LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Government Policy Statements

Mark Harper: To ask the Leader of the House what recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on ensuring that statements on significant developments in Government policy are made to the House.

Chris Bryant: My right hon. and learned Friend and I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues when deciding whether an oral statement should be made to announce Government policy. This is done against the general principle set out in the ministerial code that when Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance, in Parliament, and taking into account the importance of the issue and the other business before the House.
	The hon. Gentleman may wish to know that there were 88 oral statements last Session, more than one every other sitting day, and already this Session there have been 14 statements in just 18 sitting days.

Programme Motions

David Amess: To ask the Leader of the House what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of arrangements for programming of Bills; and if she will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: My right hon. Friend has made no formal assessment of the operation of programming, but it has a number of advantages, including greater certainty about the timing of debates on specific areas of a bill and the timing of bills.
	The introduction of programming is one of a number of recent reforms to the legislative process such as pre-legislative scrutiny and evidence-taking public Bill committees.

Governance of Britain Green Paper

Graham Allen: To ask the Leader of the House what progress has been made on the proposals in the Governance of Britain Green Paper which fall within her area of responsibility.

Chris Bryant: The House has agreed proposals for regional select and Grand Committees and we expect the committees to be nominated soon. In response to the Modernisation Committee's recommendations on revitalising the Chamber, we have introduced topical questions and debates.

Government Bills

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Leader of the House if she will review the proportion of House of Commons time allocated to Government Bills.

Chris Bryant: In 2006-07, the last Session for which published figures are available, the House sat for a total of 1,118 hours and 52 minutes. It spent 298 hours and 11 minutes on Government Bills, around a quarter of the total.
	This does not include time spent in Committee off the floor of the House, nor on pre-legislative scrutiny of draft Bills for future Sessions.
	This compares with around 188 hours on private Members' business, around 17 per cent. of the total sitting time, and 118 hours and 35 minutes on Opposition business, around 10 per cent. of the total.

Members' Expenses

Simon Hughes: To ask the Leader of the House what assessment she has made of public opinion on arrangements for the publication of information on hon. Members' expenses.

Chris Bryant: The Government brought forward proposals to exempt information about payments made to hon. Members from the provisions of the Act in the belief that they would command general support in all parts of the House. When it became clear that they did not, we withdrew the proposals.
	We are still proposing a new publication scheme, with more categories of voluntary publication than ever before, and a rigorous system of audit and assurance of hon. Members' allowances.

Members' Expenses

John Mann: To ask the Leader of the House 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with other hon. Members in advance of her decision to propose the exemption of hon. Members from provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to claims for expenses;
	(2)  how many letters she has received from hon. Members requesting exemption or partial exemption from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000;
	(3)  which external bodies she consulted on her proposal to exempt hon. Members from provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to hon. Members' claims for expenses.

Chris Bryant: My right hon. Friend has frequent private communications with Members from all parts of the House on a range of issues relating to her ministerial responsibilities.
	No external bodies were consulted about the tabling of the draft Freedom of Information (Parliament) Order 2009.

Ministerial Statements

Andrew Selous: To ask the Leader of the House what recent discussions she has had with Ministerial colleagues on the criteria to be used in deciding whether an announcement should be made by means of an Oral Statement.

Chris Bryant: My right hon. and learned Friend and I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues when deciding whether an oral statement should be made to announce Government policy. This is done against the general principle set out in the Ministerial Code that when Parliament is in Session, the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance, in Parliament, and taking into account the importance of the issue and the other business before the House.

Written Questions

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Leader of the House on how many occasions in the last 12 months Ministers in her Office used their discretion to rule that a parliamentary question for written answer should be answered because it would be in the public interest to do so, even though to do so would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of £700.

Chris Bryant: None. The situation described has not arisen. We aim to publish as much information as possible and would consider providing an answer, despite it exceeding the disproportionate cost threshold, if it was deemed to be in the public interest.

OLYMPICS

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what expert advisers have been commissioned by her Office since its inception; on what topic each was commissioned; and whether the adviser so appointed made a declaration of political activity in each case.

Tessa Jowell: No expert advisers have been commissioned by my Office.

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will make it her policy that temporary and permanent employees of her Office employed at the same grade receive the same hourly rate of pay.

Tessa Jowell: Both temporary and permanent staff are placed on the appropriate pay band for their grade. The same bands apply equally to permanent and temporary staff.

Olympic Games 2012: Construction

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Olympics on what date the relocation of Thornton Fields railway sidings was completed.

Tessa Jowell: The Olympic Delivery Authority completed construction of the new sidings at Orient Way in May 2008. This was announced on 7 July 2008. The completion of Orient Way allowed work to begin early on the clearance of the Thornton's Field site. That in turn was completed on 31 October 2008.

Olympic Games 2012: Construction

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Olympics on what date the contract to construct the velodrome for the London 2012 Olympics was awarded.

Tessa Jowell: The Olympic Delivery Authority selected the British company ISG Interior Exterior in May 2008 for the Velodrome contract, with the contract being signed on 10 June 2008. ISG will set up on the Olympic Park site next month and the project remains firmly on track.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Churches: Listed Buildings

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners how many church buildings are listed.

Stuart Bell: The Church of England is responsible for approximately 13,000 listed buildings. This represents about 45 per cent. of all the grade I listed buildings in England.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Carbon Emissions

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport over what period the data was collected which underlies Figure  (a) 1.1,  (b) 1.2 and  (c) 1.3 in his Department's publication, UK Air Passenger Demand and carbon dioxide forecasts.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The period over which the data underlying Figures 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 of 'UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts 2009' were collected is set out in Chapter 2 of the same report, with further detail in Annexes A-D.
	Box 2.2 (p. 16) explains that the forecast shown in Figure 1.1 is based on data from the period 1984-2004. Page 26 explains that the airport choice model used in producing the forecast shown in Figures 1.2 and 1.3 is based on cross-sectional data for 2005.
	Figure 1.3 illustrates the forecasting model's success in predicting movements in passenger demand since 2005.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much revenue has been generated by tolls on the Dartford-Thurrock crossing in each year since its opening.

Paul Clark: For the period of the Extension Agreement—between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003— the Highways Agency records show annual revenue of £68,363,698.02. Records of annual revenues before this date are not held centrally by the Department for Transport.
	Details of the annual total revenues from the Dartford Crossing from 2003-04 onwards are placed in the House Library (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme—Annual Accounts).

Departmental Catering

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which  (a) food and  (b) drinks suppliers have been used by his Department in each of the last three years; and how much his Department paid to each such supplier in each of those years.

Geoff Hoon: The requested information, where recorded, has been placed in the Library of the House.

Driver Information Systems: Licensing

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many licences for dynamic route guidance systems his Department has issued in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table shows the number of licences issued since 1997.
	
		
			   Number of licences 
			 1997 1 
			 1998 0 
			 1999 0 
			 2000 1 
			 2001 0 
			 2002 1 
			 2003 1 
			 2004 2

Driving Under Influence

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce the incidence of drink driving.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I would refer my hon. Friend to section 3 of the Department for Transport's Road Safety Compliance Consultation document, published on 20 November 2008, which sets out the Government's latest proposal to deal with drink driving. A copy of the document is in the Library of the House and it can also be found on the Department's website.

Driving: Licensing

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to review the system of self-certification for the renewal of driving licences for those over 70 years of age.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency, in conjunction with the Department for Transport, has been reviewing the system in place in Great Britain for ensuring that all drivers are fit to drive.
	The review on health and driver licensing has been used to inform a public consultation.
	I can confirm that the Department for Transport is currently preparing for a public consultation.

Railways: Bus Services

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason his Department has decided to run a rail replacement bus service on Tuesday mornings from Ealing Broadway station to Wandsworth Road station; for what reason this service is not advertised; how long he intends that this replacement bus service should operate; what the estimated monthly cost of this service to the public purse is; and how much of this cost has so far been recouped in terms of passenger revenue.

Paul Clark: holding answer 19 January 2009
	Mindful of the requirements of relevant legislation, the Department for Transport is currently funding a rail replacement bus service between Ealing Broadway station and Wandsworth Road station. This service, which is a temporary measure until the Department can arrange a replacement rail service in this area, has been operating since 14 December 2008 at a four-weekly cost of £1,880 to the Department for Transport.
	The Department for Transport does not recoup any revenue from this service. As a rail replacement bus service, a rail ticket has to be purchased for travel on the bus, therefore revenue will be directed to the appropriate train operator for that area.
	The Department for Transport intended the bus service to be advertised from 14 December 2008. Following a contractual delay, the bus service has been advertised, from this week, at the stations it is contracted to call at which are Ealing Broadway, Kensington Olympia and Wandsworth Road.

Road Traffic Offences: Elderly

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on the number of prosecutions for road traffic offences that are not proceeded with annually on the grounds that the driver has subsequently surrendered his licence on grounds of old age.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not hold this information.

Road Traffic Offences: Fixed Penalties

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of appeals against fixed penalty notices to traffic adjudicators were upheld in each of the last five years in each region of England; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: This information is not collected centrally by the Government, but the available figures for the number of appeals made against the issuing of Penalty Charge Notices and the number of appeals upheld for each local authority are set out in the annual reports of the traffic adjudicators: the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (PATAS) for London; and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) for outside London.
	The reports of the PATAS are available at:
	www.parkingandtrafficappeals.gov.uk
	The reports of the TPT are available at:
	www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk

Roads: Accidents

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on the number of road traffic accidents which are recorded annually as being the fault of drivers aged over  (a) 70 years and  (b) 80 years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not held centrally.
	The Department for Transport publishes the number of drivers of different age groups involved in reported personal injury road accidents in table 38a of the publication "Road Casualties Great Britain - annual report 2007". Fault is not assigned to participants in these collisions. However, information on the contributory factors is collected and published in article 4 of the same report. Table 4h of this article provides the most frequently recorded contributory factors for car drivers by age group.
	Copies of the report have been deposited in the Libraries of the House. The report is also published on the Department for Transport web site at the following link:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/accidents/casualtiesgbar/roadcasualtiesgreatbritain20071.

Shipping: Lost Property

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many shipping containers have been lost overboard in UK waters in each year since 2006.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) does not have a separate database to record the loss of containers. The MCA operates databases to record incidents, including recording where containers are lost overboard.
	The MCA relies on ships reporting loss of containers in accordance with national and European legislation.
	To give a specific number would require a manual interrogation of the incident recording system and that would incur disproportionate costs.

Speed Limits: Schools

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on encouraging local authorities to apply 20 mph zones around schools; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport encourages local authorities to introduce 20 mph zones in areas where vulnerable road users are present, including the roads around school premises.
	This view is reflected in the Department for Transport guidance to local authorities on setting local speed limits, published in August 2006. In addition, Traffic Advisory Leaflet 9/99 provides best practice guidelines on setting 20 mph speed limits and 20 mph zones. Copies of the leaflet are in the Library of the House.

Vehicle Certification Agency

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 199W, on departmental official residences, for what purposes Vehicle Certification Agency staff are based in  (a) the United States and  (b) Japan.

Geoff Hoon: Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) staff are based in the United States and Japan to carry out their operational duties as a United Kingdom (UK) type approval (TA) authority to conduct and witness tests to European Community (EC) and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) directives and regulations on vehicles coming into Europe from those countries.
	VCA does not have any official residences anywhere.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Advertising: Economic Situation

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to support the advertising industry; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The Government are committed to supporting the creative industries, including the advertising industry. Last year this Department launched Creative Britain, a strategy setting out in 26 commitments the Government's determination to move the creative industries from the margins to the mainstream of the UK economy. The commitments cover education and training, research and innovation and intellectual property.
	The Government also provide targeted support to help companies start, survive and succeed. This is available to all businesses, including those in the advertising sector, via Business Link
	www.businesslink.gov.uk.
	On 14 January the Government launched a support package which consists of loan guarantees and a new Enterprise Fund aimed at helping companies struggling to access finance for working capital and investment.

Arts: Local Government Finance

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much local authority funding was provided for the arts in England in each year since 1980.

Barbara Follett: The Department for Communities and Local Government collects data on revenue and capital expenditure by local authorities. Expenditure on the arts by local authorities is only available on a consistent basis since 2004-05. The net current expenditure for 'arts development and support' is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Net current expenditure (£ million) 
			 2004-05 121 
			 2005-06 118 
			 2006-07 118 
			 2007-08 120

Arts: Schools

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by what date he expects the baseline data for the Find Your Talent pilots to be established.

Barbara Follett: The baseline position of the Find Your Talent pathfinder areas is currently being established. An independent evaluation team of SQW Consulting and Ipsos MORI will measure baseline participation in a representative sample of young people in the 10 areas and the results of this survey will be available in May 2009.

Charities

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to which  (a) charities and  (b) voluntary organisations his Department has provided funding in the last five years; and how much funding was provided to each.

Barbara Follett: The Department provides funding to charities and voluntary organisations through grant in aid, specific grants, strategic commissioning and the procurement of services, but it does not record the status of all bodies that it makes payments to, and the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department does record the charitable status of those bodies that it provides substantial financial support to, and I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Oaten) on 15 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 353-54W, which includes a table of payments to charities where the charity received more than £100,000 in any one year.

Churches: Conservation

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of the Heritage Lottery Fund has been allocated to preserving historic churches in each of the last five years.

Barbara Follett: The Heritage Lottery Fund provides funding to places of worship, including historic churches, through its Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme. The allocation for this scheme over the last five years is set out in the following table. Historic churches have also been eligible to apply to the fund's other grants programmes if they met the criteria, and provided that any application for outstanding repair works could not be tackled via the Places of Worship scheme.
	
		
			  Financial year  Heritage Lottery Fund Repair Grants for Places of Worship budget (£) 
			 2004-05 20,000,000 
			 2005-06 20,000,000 
			 2006-07 20,000,000 
			 2007-08 20,000,000 
			 2008-09 18,000,000

Churches: Conservation

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment he has made of the long-term sustainability of historic churches; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: The Secretary of State relies on the advice of English Heritage in relation to the condition and sustainability of historic buildings. In 2005, English Heritage and the Council for the Care of Churches commissioned a Fabric Needs Survey, which aimed to establish the cost of all major repairs needed to bring all listed places of worship in England into good repair. The survey concluded, based on a sample of buildings, that £925 million over five years was necessary.
	As part of its Heritage at Risk programme, English Heritage is undertaking an assessment of the condition and level of use of listed places of worship, the results of which are due to be published in 2010. This research will to give a national perspective on the physical condition of these buildings and inform DCMS, English Heritage and all partners across the sector, regarding the current and future prospects for sustainability.

Churches: Grants

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effect of the reduction of the Heritage Lottery Fund's available funds on grants to church buildings; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has always recognised that places of worship are a very special part of the United Kingdom's heritage, and it therefore continues to ring-fence funds for them. Although the Fund's grant budgets will reduce from 2009-13, a higher proportion of its overall budget has been set aside in recognition of the role these buildings play in community life.
	The Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage remain committed to providing grants to historic places of worship. The joint Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage funding scheme has offered over £133 million for the repair of historic places of worship since it began in 2002. In 2009, £25 million will be offered to listed places of worship: £17.5 million will go to Grade I and II* buildings, and £7.5 million to Grade II buildings. £15 million of this is provided by the HLF, and £10 million by EH. Both bodies anticipate continuing this grant scheme at its current level until 2010-11.

Churches: Repairs and Maintenance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport where those offices established to advise on the maintenance and repair of church buildings will be located.

Barbara Follett: On 12 December 2008, English Heritage launched a scheme to provide funding for Support Officers for historic places of worship. To date, six Support Officer posts have been established in Brighton and Hove, Exeter, Coventry, Carlisle, the North-West region and Worcester. Posts are established in response to applications from dioceses; denominations; faith groups and other organisations or partnerships which have a role in the care of historic places of worship anywhere in England. The response to the scheme has been very positive and all nine English Heritage regions are now in discussion with potential partners. A wide geographical, denominational and multi-faith coverage is expected.
	The Churches Conservation Trust is launching its Community Regeneration Task Force to work with the congregations of vulnerable church buildings where the building might end up vested in the Trust were it to become redundant.

Churches: Repairs and Maintenance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps  (a) his Department and  (b) English Heritage are taking to assist church maintenance pilot projects in the dioceses of (a) Gloucester and (b) London.

Barbara Follett: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport provides grant-in-aid to English Heritage, the Government's statutory adviser on all matters concerning the conservation of England's historic environment.
	The schemes in the Church of England dioceses of Gloucester and London are two of three pilot maintenance projects, which English Heritage has supported with funds and advice, the third being in the Church of England diocese of St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich. A model scheme will be developed from the lessons learnt from the pilot projects, which other dioceses and organisations will be encouraged to adopt, with funding from English Heritage for the set-up costs where possible.

Crown Lands and Estates

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost to the public purse of each royal property is in 2008-09.

Barbara Follett: The royal household receives £15 million a year from my Department to meet the costs of property maintenance; utilities; telephones and related services at the occupied royal palaces in England. As given in the Royal Public Finances Annual Reports 2007-08, copies of which are in the Libraries of the House (http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page3954.asp), the maintenance costs of the occupied royal palaces for the year to 31 March 2008 (the most recent year for which there are figures) were:
	
		
			   Maintenance costs (£ million) 
			 Buckingham Palace 5.9 
			 Buckingham Palace Mews and Gardens 2.1 
			 St. James's Palace 1.5 
			 Clarence House and Marlborough House Mews 0.8 
			 Kensington Palace 0.7 
			 Hampton Court Mews and Paddocks 0.3 
			 Windsor Castle 3.7 
			 Windsor Castle Royal Mews 0.7 
			 Windsor Home and Great Parks 0.7 
		
	
	Most of these costs were met from the grant in aid, the remainder from income from a facilities management charge paid by the Royal Collection Trust, £1.8 million in 2007-08.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent on  (a) departmental Christmas parties and  (b) staff entertainment in the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The annual DCMS staff Christmas party is self-funded by staff at no cost to the public purse. No expenditure has been incurred on staff entertainment in the last three years. All expenditure on official entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on gifts and hospitality, based on principles set out in Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Departmental Public Appointments

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what progress has been made in appointing a research consortium to review his Department's participation research; when he expects the consortium to be appointed; and what time frame he plans to set for its deliberation;
	(2)  what progress has been made in appointing a research consortium to review his Department's participation research; when he expects the consortium to have been appointed; and what time frame will be set for its deliberation.

Barbara Follett: We recently announced that the university of London's EPPI-centre and Matrix Knowledge Group have been appointed to conduct the first phase of the research. This phase is due to last one year. For further details on the new 'Culture and Sport Evidence Programme' (CASE, formerly referred to as the 'joint research programme') please see the new webpage at:
	www.culture.gov.uk/case

Departmental Public Bodies

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made towards the target of reducing by 20 per cent. the number of unnecessary transactions required to be carried out by his Department's public bodies; if he will make it his policy to eliminate all unnecessary transactions; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: During the course of 2008, DCMS delivered a 9 per cent. reduction in the number of reports required of public bodies. We are pursuing further reductions with the aim of meeting the 20 per cent. target during 2009. Our oversight of each body is linked to a thorough risk assessment, so that a report should not be requested if the degree of risk does not justify it.

Departmental Surveys

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of people responding to his Department's Taking Part survey said that they had participated in an active sport during the preceding four weeks in each year since 2005.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The 'Taking Part' survey is a continuous household survey providing national data on participation in culture, leisure and sport by adults aged 16 and over.
	The following table shows the percentage of adults who participated in an active sport in the four weeks prior to interview.
	
		
			  Participation in active sport in past four weeks 
			  Percentage 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			   %  +/-  %  +/-  %  +/- 
			 Adults (16 and over) 53.7 0.8 53.4 0.9 53.6 0.8 
		
	
	This information has been extracted from the report published in December 2008, 'Final assessment of progress on PSA3'. The full report is available at
	<http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/5653.aspx>

Horserace Totalisator Board: Recruitment

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications were received by his Department for posts of  (a) members of the Independent Strategy Board of the Gambling Commission and  (b) non-executive directors of the Tote; how many positions are available for each; and when he expects to make the appointments.

Gerry Sutcliffe: For the Independent Strategy Board of the Gambling Commission, nine vacancies were advertised and 50 applications were received. Appointments are expected to be made in time for the first board meeting on 4 March 2009.
	For the non-executive directors of the Horserace Totalisator Board, two vacancies were advertised and 72 applications were received. I anticipate making these appointments by February 2009.

Listed Buildings: Liverpool

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what grants his Department and English Heritage have awarded for the maintenance of grade I listed buildings in Liverpool in the last two years; how much was awarded in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport provides no direct Exchequer funding for the maintenance of listed buildings. Government funding is provided as grant in aid to English Heritage.
	English Heritage advises that they have offered the following grants to grade I listed buildings in Liverpool in the last two years. English Heritage's grant schemes are primarily for major urgent structural repair projects rather than ongoing maintenance.
	
		
			  Grade I  building  Grant type  Date grant offered  Amount of grant offered (£) 
			 St. John the Baptist Church, Tuebrook Repair Grant for Places of Worship 19 December 2008 112,000 
			 Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool Grants for Cathedrals 19 December 2008 50,000 
			 Princes Road Synagogue Repair Grant for Places of Worship 21 December 2007 112,000 
			 St. Georges Church, Everton Repair Grant for Places of Worship 28 November 2007 73,000

National Lottery: Voluntary Organisations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he plans to take to assist voluntary organisations in applying for Heritage Lottery Fund grants.

Barbara Follett: This is a matter within the operational responsibility of the Heritage Lottery Fund. The fund has advised that it is committed to providing efficient and simple ways of funding voluntary organisations throughout the UK, and it produces a range of guidance, including some designed to help groups carrying out heritage projects for the first time.
	The Government have encouraged all lottery distributors, including the Heritage
	Lottery Fund, to ensure that the application process is as simple as possible. The lottery distributors have set up a website
	http://www.lotteryfunding.org.uk
	which has proved very successful in letting potential applicants know about the relevant lottery programmes, including those run by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Sports: Clubs

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 10 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 484-5, on the Subs for Clubs campaign, what progress has been made in talks between his Department and HM Treasury.

Gerry Sutcliffe: DCMS officials have discussed the Central Council of Physical Recreation's (CCPRs) 'Subs for Clubs' proposal to allow community amateur sports clubs (CASC) to claim gift aid on junior subscriptions with HMT.
	A decision was made against implementing this proposal at the current time. DCMS officials are in discussion with CCPR to identify ways of encouraging more clubs to register for the CASC scheme and to maximize the use of the existing benefits that CASCs enjoy.
	To date the CASC scheme has now registered over 5,000 clubs receiving rate relief and other benefits. As of December 2009 Deloittes estimate that it has saved grassroots sports more than £48 million since its inception. This money has gone back into sport and has enabled clubs to spend it on everything from facilities to kit. Additionally, all community sports clubs will benefit over the next year from the reduction in VAT from 17.5 per cent. to 15 per cent. which will help to increase the funds available to clubs, and moreover provide more money in the pockets of potential donors.

Sports: EC Action

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what dates since March 2008  (a) he and  (b) the Sports Minister have met with their European counterparts to discuss the European White Paper on sport.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have met with my European counterparts to discuss the White Paper at two EU Informal Sports Ministers' meetings on 16-17 March 2008 and 27-28 November 2008.
	The Secretary of State has had no such discussions.

Sports: North East

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public money was spent per capita on sporting infrastructure in  (a) the north-east and  (b) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England have provided the following figures, based on Exchequer data held for the last five financial years from 2003-04 to the second quarter of 2008-09:
	
		
			  (a) Capital Exchequer awards to the north-east 
			   £ 
			  Financial Year  Per capita based on 2001 census 
			 2003-04 0.33 
			 2004-05 0.46 
			 2005-06 0.52 
			 2006-07 0.69 
			 2007-08 0.76 
			 2008-09 0.18 
			   
			 Total 2.94 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Capital Exchequer awards to Middlesbrough South  and  East Cleveland 
			   £ 
			  Financial Year  Per capita based on 2001 census 
			 2003-04 0.86 
			 2004-05 0.00 
			 2005-06 0.00 
			 2006-07 0.28 
			 2007-08 0.00 
			 2008-09 0.89 
			   
			 Total 2.03 
		
	
	The constituency and region will also have benefited from lottery funding for sporting infrastructure during this period.

Sports: Public Participation

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of  (a) all adults and  (b) each priority group participated in active sport in the last four weeks.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The 'Taking Part' survey is a continuous household survey providing national data on participation in culture, leisure and sport by adults aged 16 and over.
	The following table shows the percentage of all adults, and those from each priority group, who participated in an active sport in the four weeks prior to interview.
	
		
			  Participation in active sport in past four weeks 
			  Percentage 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			   %  +/-  %  +/-  %  +/- 
			 Black and minority ethnic 53.3 2.2 51.9 2.4 52.6 2.3 
			 Limiting disability 32.3 1.3 31.2 1.5 30.1 1.3 
			 Lower socio-economic 43.4 1.1 42.2 1.3 43.8 1.2 
			 Females 47.7 1.0 46.2 1.1 46.1 1.0 
			 All adults 53.7 0.8 53.4 0.9 53.6 0.8 
		
	
	This information has been extracted from the report published in December 2008, "Final assessment of progress on PSA3". The full report is available at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/5653.aspx.

St George's Day

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many items of correspondence he has received on  (a) St. George's Day and  (b) St. Patrick's Day in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: As at 13 January we have identified 14 items of correspondence from the last 12 months which have St. George's Day as the main subject and one item of correspondence that has St. Patrick's Day as the main subject.
	It is possible that further correspondence could mention St. George's Day or St. Patrick's Day as secondary issues, but this correspondence could be identified only at disproportionate cost.

St George's Day

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to promote St George's Day in 2009.

Barbara Follett: On 23 April, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will fly the St. George's Flag alongside the Union Flag to celebrate St. George's Day.

St George's Day

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public funding is available from his Department to groups wishing to celebrate St George's Day.

Barbara Follett: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has no public funding available to groups wishing to celebrate St. George's Day.

St George's Day

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether his Department has had discussions with tourism agencies about marking St. George's Day in 2009.

Barbara Follett: DCMS has had no specific discussions with tourism agencies about marking St. George's Day in 2009. However VisitEngland and some individual regions will have celebrations to mark St. George's Day in 2009. For example VisitEngland will highlight St. Georges Day events on enjoyengland.com as well as hosting Enjoy England Awards for Excellence on this date.

Taking Part Survey

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the average standard deviation was of the datasets of his Department's Taking Part survey in each year since 2005.

Barbara Follett: The term 'standard deviation' refers to the variance, or spread, of data around the mean (standard deviation is the square root of the variance). Standard deviations can be calculated for individual estimates from Taking Part, rather than the overall dataset.
	Confidence intervals are derived from the variance and the sample design, and are published for all Taking Part estimates. These indicate the range in which true percentages could fall.
	To see an example, please refer to the latest report at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/5653.aspx

Taxis

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on taxis in each of the last three years.

Barbara Follett: All official travel is undertaken in accordance with rules set out in the Department's staff guide under Travel and Subsistence and is consistent with the Civil Service Management Code.
	The expenditure on taxis by the Department in each year since 2005 is set out in the following table. These figures represent expenditure on taxis and black cabs. In addition, some expenditure on black cabs and taxis is included in general travel and subsistence account and cannot be separately identified except at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 2007-08 36,359 
			 2006-07 38,421 
			 2005-06 21,759

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Biofuels: Wood

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the accuracy of data on the availability and use of wood and its contribution to the sustainability of future biomass energy projects.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Estimates of the availability and use of wood have been published by the Forestry Commission over a number of years. DEFRA has not undertaken an assessment of this information. The Forestry Commission publishes on its website the details of the methodologies used to compile the figures so that those using the information can make their own assessment of its accuracy.

Carbon Emissions: Rural Areas

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what account his Department takes of the capacity of rural areas to absorb carbon dioxide in formulating its climate change policy.

Huw Irranca-Davies: My Department is undertaking further work to understand the realistic potential of the natural environment to act as a sink or store of carbon dioxide and also the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from management of the land. This takes account of the role of forests, soils, land-use and agriculture. My Department also supports a Rural Climate Change Forum to consider the ways in which rural areas can help mitigate and adapt to climate change. We will take all of this information into account as part of the Government's approach to meeting their commitments under the Climate Change Act.

Common Fisheries Policy

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what his estimate is of the number of boats in the UK that would require a licence or other form of authorisation to facilitate recreational fisheries under Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy;
	(2)  what the estimated cost is of implementing and enforcing Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy in the UK;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the provisions of Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy on the marine environment; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what his estimate is of the number of people who will require a licence under the terms of Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the proposals under Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy on tourism; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  what assessment he has made of the effects of the proposals in Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy on compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy; and if he will make a statement;
	(7)  what his assessment is of the likely effects on  (a) the economy,  (b) jobs and  (c) the number of recreational sea anglers of the provisions of Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: In England there are some 400 charter angling vessels that would require an authorisation under Article 47 of the proposal as currently drafted, plus an as yet unquantified number of privately owned vessels. As part of the process of negotiating this proposal we shall be seeking clarification from the Commission on a number of issues relating to Article 47. Until we have that clarification it is difficult accurately to assess its potential impact in the areas referred to in these questions. We shall be seeking stakeholders views on these points and considering them in more detail in the impact assessment that my officials are drawing up and which we shall publish as part of the formal consultation procedure.

Common Fisheries Policy

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when  (a) he and  (b) his officials were consulted on the terms of Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he expects Article 47 of the Council Regulation establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy to be  (a) (i) discussed in and (ii) approved by the Council of Ministers and  (b) implemented and transposed; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Neither I nor my officials were consulted before the Commission published the current proposal on 17 November. The proposal is scheduled for initial discussion by Ministers at the June Fisheries Council although I would not expect it to be approved then. The proposal has an envisaged implementation date of 1 January 2010, subject to negotiation.

Construction: Thames Gateway

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the dredging of the Thames in Castle Point constituency as part of the Thames Gateway port development will commence.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Consents to undertake dredging to develop and subsequently maintain navigational areas within the London Gateway Port are given by the London Gateway Port Harbour Empowerment Order 2008 and issued by the Department for Transport. They came into force on 16 May 2008.
	The timing of the proposed dredging is a commercial decision for the Harbour Authority, London Gateway Port Ltd.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of contractors and suppliers to  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies has reported compliance with the Government's security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The information is not available in the form requested. Since 1 July 2008 the DEFRA delivery network has been using the standard OGC security clauses for all new contracts and has also checked the compliance of its strategic IT partner with all the mandatory requirements of the Data Handling Review. In addition we have asked all information asset owners, responsible for assets containing personal protected information across the DEFRA network, to seek assurances from any other contractors or suppliers handling information on their behalf. Assurances have been received from all bar one of the owners in core DEFRA, and in respect of all executive agencies, except the Rural Payments Agency. In both cases the process of confirming assurances is under way but not yet complete.

Departmental Public Consultation

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on which occasions his Department has convened a citizens' jury or randomly drawn panel of people to aid the Department's policy making since 2000; whether the participants were paid in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA was formed in June 2001. However, inquires with policy leads have revealed the following examples of where DEFRA has convened a Citizen's Jury since 2001:
	In December 2005-January 2006, the Air and Environment Quality Division (now Atmosphere Quality and Industrial Pollution programme) ran a Citizen's Jury to explore public views on air quality in order to inform the development of future policies and strategies. Members of the jury were paid to participate in the event.
	In November 2007, a DEFRA-funded research project (WU0112) employed a Citizen's Jury approach to explore people's understanding of risk associated with the microbial pollution of water courses; public attitudes to culpability given the current scientific and policy evidence base, particularly as this related to the role of livestock farming; where public priorities were in terms of appropriate level and types of policy intervention and mitigation; and views regarding responsibilities for taking action to reduce microbial risks. Members of the jury were paid to participate in the event.
	When used carefully and appropriately, Citizens' Juries can be a helpful way of eliciting public preferences to factor into policy decision making.

Departmental Telephone Services

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many telephone numbers for which callers are charged at the rate applicable to 0845 numbers are used by  (a) his Department and  (b) its executive agencies for public access to services.

Huw Irranca-Davies: From information held centrally, there are 38 telephone numbers for which callers are charged at the rate(s) applicable to 0845 numbers—four for core-DEFRA, 14 for DEFRA's executive agencies and 20 for non-departmental public bodies. None of the numbers are revenue sharing.
	Members of the public using these numbers are charged by their telephone providers at their agreed rates. On 8 January 2009, BT announced that its consumer customers will no longer pay these charges from 16 January 2009. As from this date 0845 numbers will be included in their calls packages. Those not on a calls package and business customers will continue to pay the applicable or agreed 0845 rates.

Fishing Catches

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) monetary value and  (b) weight of fish landed in the UK for domestic consumption was in the last 12 months, broken down by country of registration of fishing vessel.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The live weight and value of fish landed into the UK for domestic consumption in 2007 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Vessel nationality  Live weight ( Thousand  tonnes)  Value (£ million) 
			 UK 439.8 535.0 
			 Faroes 22.1 14.0 
			 Norway 21.6 6.1 
			 Irish Republic 17.6 10.9 
			 France 17.0 19.0 
			 Denmark 12.4 5.4 
			 Russia 6.4 7.1 
			 Belgium 4.6 12.7 
			 Spain 3.5 5.5 
			 Netherlands 1.1 2.0 
			 Poland 1.0 0.6 
			 Germany 1.0 1.0 
			 Sweden 0.9 0.3 
			 Belize 0.7 1.0 
			 Total 549.6 620.8

Fishing Catches

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) tonnage and  (b) monetary value was of landings at UK ports by EU vessels in 2008 of fish caught in (i) the North Sea and (ii) UK home territorial waters.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Information on the tonnage of fish landings by EU vessels from the North sea as a whole for 2006, the latest year for which such information is available, is provided in the following table.
	Landings by EU member states of fish caught in the North sea (ICES area IV):
	
		
			  Member state  Landings in 2006 (tonnes live weight) 
			 Belgium 9,728 
			 Denmark 593,375 
			 Germany 83,758 
			 Ireland 7,280 
			 France 50,653 
			 Lithuania 6,989 
			 Netherlands 152,185 
			 Poland 2,093 
			 Portugal 1,060 
			 Sweden 48,491 
			 United Kingdom 250,796 
			 EU total 1,206,406 
			  Source:  Eurostat. 
		
	
	The value of the fish involved and details of those caught in UK territorial waters is not readily available. Such information can be made available only by contacting the individual member states and third countries concerned. This would include requesting information on the value of catches by vessels of other member states and third countries that fish within that part of the North sea bounded by the UK's 200 mile fisheries limit. However, such information is only available in terms of the totals for the sea areas involved, and only for the quantities of fish involved rather than value. As such, the information requested is not available.

Fishing Catches: North Sea

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the assessed economic value of fisheries catch in each North Sea fisheries box that falls partly or wholly within the UK's 200 mile zone is.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To produce the requested information would require information on the value of catches by vessels of other member states and third countries that fish within that part of the North Sea bounded by the UK's 200 mile fisheries limit. However, such information is only available in terms of the totals for the sea areas involved, not at the level of the individual rectangles that make up this area, with these totals only being available for the quantities of fish involved rather than value. As such, the information could only be made available by contacting the individual member states and third countries concerned.

Fishing Catches: Shellfish

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what tonnage of  (a) lobster,  (b) shellfish and  (c) shrimp was landed by the UK fishing fleet in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Live weight landings of shellfish into the UK and abroad by UK registered fishing vessels for 2007 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Species  Live weight ( Thousand  tonnes) 
			 Lobster 2.8 
			 Shrimps 1.4 
			 Other shellfish 141.6 
			 Total 145.8

Fishing Grounds

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fishing vessels are operating in UK home territorial waters from EU Eastern European Baltic accession countries that prior to accession fished in the Baltic Sea.

Huw Irranca-Davies: No fishing vessels from EU Eastern European Baltic accession countries that prior to accession fished in the Baltic Sea are operating in UK territorial waters (within the 12 mile limit).
	Three Polish vessels have fished within the UK 200 mile fishery limit since January 2008.

Fishing Grounds

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which fisheries boxes would fall  (a) completely and  (b) partially within the UK 200 mile/median maritime control limit in the absence of the common fisheries policy.

Huw Irranca-Davies: A copy of the map of the UK 200 mile fishery limits showing the statistical rectangles covered either fully, or partially, by the limit will be placed in the Library of the House.

Fishing Vessels

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what tonnage of foreign-registered fishing vessels are operating in UK home fishing waters.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The number of foreign registered fishing vessels operating in the UK 200 mile fishery limit is very fluid and constantly changing in response to fishing opportunities. Their presence is recorded through a combination of obligatory satellite monitoring systems and through sightings of vessels made during aerial and naval reconnaissance activity carried out by, or on behalf of, UK fisheries administrations.
	Based on the information collected as above, it is estimated that the number of foreign fishing vessels that operated in the UK 200 mile fishery limit in 2008, produced from sightings and satellite data, was 2,886. Of these, the vast majority (2,321 vessels) were registered fishing vessels from other member states. This includes fishing vessels identified as present within UK fishery limits but not carrying out fishing activities (e.g. Russian registered vessels).
	The tonnage of those vessels involved is not readily available and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Hague Preferences

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what his Department's policy is on invoking the Hague Preferences;
	(2)  what extra total allowable catch accrues to UK fishing vessels through his Department's use of the Hague Preferences in this year.

Huw Irranca-Davies: For some time, the Government have been concerned that the Hague Preference mechanism does not provide the necessary support to coastal communities in the UK and Ireland that it was intended to do. We have, therefore, sought to open discussions with the Irish on suitable replacement arrangements. To date, they have been reluctant to engage. We will, however, continue to press them on this, and plan to explore options with the Commission and other member states in due course.
	In recent years, we have limited our actions to offsetting the impacts of Irish invocation in the Irish Sea and adjacent areas to ensure the UK fleet is not put at a disadvantage. However, in the December 2007 EU Fisheries Council, we also invoked on both North Sea haddock and whiting, in recognition of the particular importance of these stocks to UK fishermen, and the concerns expressed within the industry that the scientific advice (on which the quotas were based) was somewhat at odds with fishermen's experience on the ground. For the same reasons, we repeated these invocations last December. In both years however, we restricted the scale of our invocations, recognising the concerns of other member states who lose out as a result of our actions.
	The effects of the December 2008 EU Fisheries Council invocations on the scale of UK quotas for the stocks in question, are included in the following table:
	
		
			  Hague Preference 
			UK Quota Pre-HP  UK Quota Post-HP  Gain/Loss 
			  Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and West of Scotland 
			 Area Via cod Counter-invocation 159 181 +22 
			 Area Vila cod Counter-invocation 384 259 -125 
			 Area Via haddock Counter-invocation 3,701 2,737 -964 
			 Area Via saithe Counter-invocation 2,312 3,617 1,305 
			 Area Vila whiting Counter-invocation 111 81 -30 
			 Area Vila plaice Counter-invocation 731 432 -299 
			  North Sea 
			 Area IV haddock Invoke 30 (%) 25,371 27,507 2,136 
			 Area IV whiting Invoke 30 (%) 6,647 8,426 1,779

Litter: Fast Food

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with Keep Britain Tidy on fast food outlets causing litter on streets.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Keep Britain Tidy (also known as ENCAMS) surveys show that fast food related litter is found in approximately a quarter of sites surveyed across England, with incidences increasing year-on-year.
	For this reason, the voluntary code of practice for 'Food on the Go' was developed by Keep Britain Tidy on behalf of DEFRA, recognising that industry has an important role to play in tackling litter issues. In January 2009, Keep Britain Tidy published results of a survey into the most frequently found brands among fast food litter as part of its latest litter campaign. The results of the survey are available on their website:
	www.encams.org.
	DEFRA currently grant-aids £5 million per annum to Keep Britain Tidy to help meet the Government's aim of an improved local environment. DEFRA officials meet regularly with colleagues in Keep Britain Tidy, and Lord Hunt, Minister for local environmental quality, is planning to meet with them in the near future. Each year Ministers also agree priorities for the grant spend.

Rural Areas: Employment

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the economic downturn on employment opportunities in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Evidence shows that the economic downturn is likely to affect urban and rural areas. DEFRA is working closely with the regional development agencies and the Commission for Rural Communities, as well as with those Departments with policy responsibility, i.e. BERR and DWP, to make sure that the National Economic Council has access to high quality intelligence regarding the economic situation in rural areas.

Total Allowable Catches: North Sea

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of current North Sea  (a) haddock,  (b) cod,  (c) herring and  (d) plaice total allowable catch comes from boxes which fall (i) completely and (ii) partially within the UK 200 mile limit.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The information requested is not available. The process for the production of estimates of total allowable catch (TAC) for each stock involves the scientific assessment of the state of the stock at the level of the overall sea areas covered by each stock definition. As such, the process does not incorporate any apportionment, or derivation, of the TAC at the level of detail of the individual fisheries rectangles within the sea areas involved.

Water Charges

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will commission research on the effects of the introduction of surface area water charges for churches, community and voluntary groups which own property used exclusively to further their causes.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Government are aware of the problem of affordability faced by some customers as a result of the switch to site area charging for surface water drainage and are looking at what can be done.

Water Charges

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what response his Department has made to representations made by sports clubs affected by increases in charges following the revision of the surface water charging element.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Ministers have received a range of representations from sports clubs about the move from charging based on rateable value to site area charging for surface water drainage. The Government are aware of the affordability issues faced by some customers as a result of the switch to site area charging and are currently reviewing their position. While the issue is under consideration, letters will continue to be acknowledged, and I will respond in full in due course.

Water Companies: Flood Control

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 612-13W, on water companies: flood control, what powers local authorities will have in circumstances where water companies do not co-operate, share information or take action which an authority considers to be necessary.

Huw Irranca-Davies: This issue is being considered as part of the forthcoming draft Floods and Water Bill, due to be published in spring 2009.

PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Official Hospitality

Grant Shapps: To ask the Prime Minister how much has been spent on  (a) departmental Christmas parties and  (b) staff entertainment in 10 Downing Street in the last three years.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, West (Kevin Brennan), Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office, on 13 January 2009,  Official Report, column 582W.

JUSTICE

Antisocial Behaviour: Penalty Notices

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many fines for the non-payment of penalty notices for disorder (PND) were registered by the courts in each of the last four years, broken down by  (a) the offence for which the PND was issued and  (b) how many fines were paid on time in full.

Jack Straw: The number of persons against whom a fine was registered following the issue of a penalty notice for disorder (PND), by offence, in England and Wales for the years 2004 to 2007 can be viewed in the following table. Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	Significant improvements are being achieved by the courts in the collection of fines. The Courts Act 2003 introduced a series of measures aimed at improving fine collection including deduction from earnings and benefits, seizure of goods and clamping of vehicles. We do not identify separately the payment rate of fines arising from PNDs, but the latest enforcement rate for all financial penalties is 85.2 per cent. for the period April to December 2008. The payment rates for the last four years are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Payment rate (Percentage) 
			 2004-05 80 
			 2005-06 83 
			 2006-07 92 
			 2007-08 95 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of penalty notices for disorder issued to all persons aged 16 and over, where a fine was registered, England and Wales, 2004 to 2007( 1, 2) 
			  Fine registered 
			  Office description  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  £80 tickets issued 
			 Wasting police time 579 1,161 1,787 1,807 
			 Misuse of public telecommunications system 58 140 319 431 
			 Giving false alarm to fire and rescue authority 22 38 52 37 
			 Causing harassment, alarm or distress(2) 13,125 26,754 35,154 33,021 
			 Throwing fireworks 80 271 264 223 
			 Drunk and disorderly 11,035 14,459 16,919 18,161 
			 Criminal Damage (under £500)(2) 481 211 8,492 7,979 
			 Theft (retail under £200)(2) 1,128 60 21,157 24,344 
			 Breach of fireworks curfew 2 23 16 13 
			 Possession of category 4 firework 6 70 15 10 
			 Possession by a person under 18 of adult firework 7 4,702 21 31 
			 Sale of alcohol to drunken person 0 11,927 9 9 
			 Supply of alcohol to person under 18 0 14 7 11 
			 Sale of alcohol to person under 18 10 8 390 405 
			 Purchase alcohol for person under 18 21 15 122 211 
			 Purchase alcohol for person under 18 for consumption on premises 0 6 20 22 
			 Delivery of alcohol to person under 18 or allowing such delivery 10 1 99 138 
			  
			  £50 tickets issued 
			 Trespass on a railway 45 115 463 675 
			 Throwing stones at a train/railway 25 5 6 10 
			 Drunk in a highway 1,166 1,339 1,158 788 
			 Consumption of alcohol in public place 349 499 749 1,090 
			 Depositing and leaving litter 25 325 536 589 
			 Consumption of alcohol by under 18 on relevant premises 4 16 17 16 
			 Allowing consumption of alcohol by under 18 on relevant premises 2 12 4 1 
			 Buying or attempting to buy alcohol by person under 18 0 8 20 35 
			 All offences 28,180 62,179 87,796 90,057 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) Penalty notice for disorder (PND) scheme commenced in November 2004.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Evidence and Analysis Unit.

Compensation: Enforcement

Edward Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average cost of enforcing a compensation order was in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Bridget Prentice: Information on the costs of collection of compensation orders is not collected. Data on the costs of collection of compensation orders is not held by either the Ministry of Justice or HMCS. Information on the enforcement rate of financial penalties imposed by courts is held but cannot make the distinction between compensation orders and other financial penalties and to use this figure to estimate the collection of compensation orders would be misleading.
	It is therefore not possible to establish the average cost of collecting compensation orders.
	The payment rate for financial impositions that includes compensation, costs, fines and the victims surcharge was 95 per cent. in 2007-08.

Coroners

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many open verdicts were recorded by coroners in each year between 2002 and 2008, broken down by area.

Bridget Prentice: Statistics on the number of open verdicts returned by coroners in England and Wales in each year between 2002 and 2007, broken down by area, have been placed in the Library of the House. Figures for 2008 are not yet available, but are due to be published on the Ministry of Justice website in May.

Coroners: Ethnic Groups

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress has been made by his Department on the recording of ethnicity data by coroners.

Bridget Prentice: At present coroners do not collect data on the ethnicity of the deceased in deaths which are referred to them. As part of our work to implement the coroner reforms included in the Coroner and Justice Bill we will be reviewing the statistical data currently collected by coroners and considering whether any changes are required.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what expert advisers have been commissioned by his Department and its agencies since 1997; on what topic each was commissioned; and whether the advisers so appointed made a declaration of political activity in each case.

Jack Straw: Lord Lester acted as the Secretary of State's expert adviser on constitutional reform between July 2007 and November 2008, and made a declaration of political activity prior to his appointment.
	The Ministry of Justice does not hold a central list of all expert advisory appointments made by it and its agencies since 1997. The Department makes a number of appointments to public bodies, including advisory non-departmental public bodies, and compiling such a list would incur disproportionate cost. Since 2003 the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers and the number in each pay band.

Written Questions

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have used their discretion to rule that a parliamentary question for written answer should be answered because it would be in the public interest to do so, even though to do so would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of £700 in the last 12 months.

Michael Wills: In the last 12 months, the Ministry of Justice has answered one written parliamentary question for which the cost of answering the question exceeded the disproportionate cost threshold as the Minister responsible believed it to be in the public interest to do so.

Freedom of Information Act

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2008,  Official Report, column 476W, on the Freedom of Information Act 2000, when the public consultation on section 5 of the Act concluded; and when he plans to publish his response.

Jack Straw: The public consultation on section 5 of the Freedom of Information Act concluded on 1 February 2008. The Government continue to assess the merits of designating additional public authorities under the Act and will publish their response to the section 5 public consultation by the summer.

Offender Group Reconviction Score System

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what risks are taken into account in assessments made under the Offender Group Reconviction Score system; and what assessment he has made of the average level of accuracy of evidence upon which such assessments are made.

David Hanson: The Offender Group Reconviction Scale (OGRS) calculates the probability that a convicted offender will be convicted at least once within two years of their release from custody or from the start of their community sentence for any type of offence. The latest version (OGRS 3) is based on:
	age at the date of the current caution, non-custodial sentence or discharge from custody;
	gender;
	the type of offence for which the offender has currently been cautioned or convicted;
	the number of times the offender has previously been cautioned and convicted; and
	the length in years of their recorded criminal history.
	Guidance for practitioners emphasises the strengths and limitations of OGRS and reminds them that while research shows OGRS to be a strong predictor of proven re-offending it is an aid. not a substitute for judgment.
	Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation assess whether likelihood of reoffending is comprehensively and accurately assessed as part of their Offender Management inspections and their reports are made public.

Prisoners: Childbirth

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children were born to mothers in custody in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: Women in prison have a right to the same medical provision as women in the community and do not give birth in prison as a matter of course.
	The number of babies born to mothers in custody since November 2006, when the Prison Service began collecting the relevant information centrally, is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of babies born 
			 April 2006 to March 2007 37 
			 April 2007 to March 2008 102 
			 April 2008 to December 2008 75 
		
	
	The figures by establishment are as follows.
	
		
			  Establishment  MBU Places  2006-07( 1)  2007-08  2008-09( 2) 
			 Askham Grange 10 0 3 1 
			 Bronzefield 12 7 18 13 
			 Cookham Wood — 0 0 (3)n/a 
			 Downview — 2 0 0 
			 Drake Hall — 1 0 1 
			 East Sutton Park — 0 0 0 
			 Eastwood Park 12 3 21 5 
			 Foston Hall — 0 2 2 
			 Holloway 13 5 35 16 
			 Low Newton — 3 4 4 
			 Morton Hall — 0 0 0 
			 New Hall 9 3 2 9 
			 Peterborough 12 8 11 8 
			 Send — 0 0 0 
			 Styal 7 5 6 7 
			 Total 75 37 102 66 
			 (1 )November 2006 to March 2007 (2 )April to November 2008 (3 )Changed function to male juvenile establishment in 2007.

Prisoners: Education

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in respect of what schemes to tackle intolerance amongst prisoners pilots have been initiated.

David Hanson: Race and Equalities Action Group (REAG) have been developing a twin-track approach the primary focus of which has been tackling racial intolerance. The first stage consists of detection and disruption measures. Guidance provided asks staff to risk assess and subsequently categorise the offender. The second stage moves from detection to intervention. REAG has developed an education set accredited through the Open College Network, available to education departments within establishments.
	The education sessions have piloted in three establishments, the complete scheme will be piloted this year

Probation Service for England and Wales: Finance

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what projections he has made of trends in the level of demand for services provided by  (a) the Probation Service,  (b) HM Courts Service and  (c) HM Prison Service as a result of the economic downturn; and what consideration he has given to allocating additional resources to each in this respect.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice has not produced any projections of demand for services provided by  (a) the Probation Service,  (b) HM Courts Service and  (c) HM Prison Service as a result of the economic downturn. However, the Department's Ministers and Corporate Management Board are supplied with regular statistical information about both the downturn itself, and areas of that Department's business where demand for services might be affected. This ensures that timely action can be taken where necessary.
	Changes in demand for services are taken into account when agreeing allocations to departmental business groups, along with other factors such as policy considerations, inflationary pressures and the potential for efficiency savings.
	The Department remains committed to living within its budget as set out in the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007. We are currently looking hard at the services we provide in order to find new ways to improve how we deliver them, while ensuring that we focus on our frontline services. We aim to drive out inefficiencies, overlap and duplication and to reduce our overheads, especially in our headquarters areas. This work should help the Department to ensure that we are able to redeploy staff to the frontline as and where appropriate.

Probation Service: Manpower

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average caseload of members of Probation Service staff was in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07 and  (c) 2007-08.

David Hanson: The National Offender Management Service does not produce statistics on the average caseload of probation staff. However, data are collected on the number of offenders supervised by the National Probation Service (NPS) and, separately, on the number of staff in post.
	The total number of offenders supervised by the NPS on 31 March 2006 was 227,654, on 31 March 2007 it was 237,796 and on 31 December 2007 it was 242,722. This information is taken from the Probation Statistics Quarterly Brief, which can be found at the following website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/probationquarterly.htm
	The number of NPS staff in post at 31 March 2006, 31 March 2007 and 31 December 2007 are set out in the following table. Data for the quarter ending 31 March 2008 are not yet available as they are still being validated.
	
		
			  Probation Service Staff in Post: 2006-08 
			   Number 
			  2007-08( 1: ) Q uarter  3 31 December2007  
			 Probation Officers(2) 8,257.54 
			 Probation Services Officers(3) 6,221.76 
			 Other Staff 6,415.04 
			   
			 Total 20,894.34 
			   
			  2006-07( 1) : Q uarter  4 31 March 2007  
			 Probation Officers 8,265.35 
			 Probation Services Officers 6,506.78 
			 Other Staff 6,473.53 
			   
			 Total 21,245.66 
			   
			  2005-06( 1) : Q uarter  4 31 March 2006  
			 Probation Officers 8,262.50 
			 Probation Services Officers 6,544.28 
			 Other Staff 6,296.67 
			   
			 Total 21,103.45 
			 (1) Figures provided are Full Time Equivalent. Figures for Quarter 3 2007-08 have yet to be published and may be subject to minor amendment upon publication. Figures for Quarter 4 2007-08 are unavailable as they currently being validated. (2 )Includes Senior Practitioners, Probation Officers, Practice Development Assessors, Trainee Probation Officers and Senior Probation Officers. (3 )Includes Probation Services Officers and Treatment Managers.

Rape: Prosecutions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) successful and  (b) unsuccessful prosecutions for rape were made in each police authority area in each year since 1997.

Jack Straw: The number of proceedings at magistrates courts not leading to a finding of guilt, and the number of defendants found guilty at all courts, for rape offences, from 1997 to 2007 (latest available), are given in the following table.
	The figures relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Centrally collected data are available at police force area level which are given in the table.
	
		
			  The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for rape offences( 1) , by outcome( 2)  and police force area( 3) , 1997 to 2007( 4,5) .  England and Wales 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000 
			   Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt  Number found guilty  Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt  Number found guilty  Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt  Number found guilty  Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt  Number found guilty 
			 Avon and Somerset 51 9 52 14 60 9 44 13 
			 Bedfordshire 18 5 26 2 27 5 24 5 
			 Cambridgeshire 15 5 15 2 32 4 23 4 
			 Cheshire 11 8 19 9 17 11 17 11 
			 City of London — — — — — — — 2 
			 Cleveland 5 7 13 5 8 8 12 5 
			 Cumbria 11 — 7 4 10 4 3 3 
			 Derbyshire 30 7 30 6 29 10 25 11 
			 Devon and Cornwall 40 11 10 23 16 17 15 12 
			 Dorset 23 4 13 4 14 7 7 13 
			 Durham 7 7 16 9 18 5 34 3 
			 Essex 27 17 45 13 47 8 27 4 
			 Gloucestershire 7 2 10 2 9 4 12 7 
			 Greater Manchester 118 25 99 44 97 26 70 41 
			 Hampshire 39 26 48 21 59 25 61 21 
			 Hertfordshire 16 8 10 6 13 7 22 4 
			 Humberside 6 8 17 7 12 8 16 6 
			 Kent 17 12 32 9 18 14 28 17 
			 Lancashire 42 13 38 16 30 28 49 13 
			 Leicestershire 36 9 25 17 12 12 27 6 
			 Lincolnshire 16 6 21 5 16 3 14 7 
			 Merseyside 7 14 39 17 34 10 53 8 
			 Metropolitan Police 200 95 209 94 268 88 212 97 
			 Norfolk 14 2 16 2 20 2 9 4 
			 North Yorkshire 12 3 9 6 13 7 8 6 
			 Northamptonshire 0 3 9 4 7 8 4 5 
			 Northumbria 59 24 96 21 83 20 71 16 
			 Nottinghamshire 48 11 42 14 29 21 38 16 
			 South Yorkshire 27 17 26 11 12 14 38 6 
			 Staffordshire 27 10 17 9 12 13 — 14 
			 Suffolk 12 4 22 4 11 8 8 5 
			 Surrey 9 3 12 4 10 2 16 2 
			 Sussex 6 13 31 13 26 8 34 7 
			 Thames Valley 48 13 39 9 21 16 24 13 
			 Warwickshire 4 — 6 1 4 1 5 1 
			 West Mercia 15 10 23 10 16 8 13 5 
			 West Midlands 65 36 99 44 103 31 113 29 
			 West Yorkshire 66 23 58 43 102 41 91 38 
			 Wiltshire 21 3 23 2 11 1 4 4 
			 Dyfed-Powys 14 6 14 2 26 5 20 4 
			 Gwent 24 11 30 3 23 8 17 7 
			 North Wales 23 6 22 9 18 6 19 4 
			 South Wales 41 21 54 31 46 28 43 20 
			 Total 1,277 517 1,441 571 1,425 561 1,346 519 
		
	
	
		
			  Police force area  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			   Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt  Number found guilty  Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt  Number found guilty  Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt  Number found guilty  Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt  Number found guilty 
			 Avon and Somerset 74 14 68 12 57 20 49 22 
			 Bedfordshire 15 10 22 5 13 5 20 12 
			 Cambridgeshire 24 7 14 8 14 2 20 4 
			 Cheshire 25 6 18 9 18 10 20 11 
			 City of London — — 3 — — — 1 — 
			 Cleveland 14 5 21 11 25 9 14 10 
			 Cumbria 26 6 18 4 9 8 6 10 
			 Derbyshire 31 4 37 7 39 13 37 19 
			 Devon and Cornwall 18 10 0 15 5 14 2 15 
			 Dorset 33 3 22 6 13 3 15 4 
			 Durham 33 3 30 4 21 1 24 8 
			 Essex 35 8 47 5 43 6 41 9 
			 Gloucestershire 13 — 28 2 5 7 20 — 
			 Greater Manchester 117 37 149 32 156 31 152 27 
			 Hampshire 78 20 77 21 81 10 70 14 
			 Hertfordshire 18 5 23 8 25 10 37 11 
			 Humberside 10 8 22 9 15 10 23 8 
			 Kent 26 17 51 16 40 7 43 10 
			 Lancashire 64 16 76 14 49 20 50 16 
			 Leicestershire 42 4 47 8 33 15 30 12 
			 Lincolnshire 14 5 24 9 21 4 22 5 
			 Merseyside 55 24 79 15 82 13 45 20 
			 Metropolitan Police 339 76 432 96 477 113 376 103 
			 Norfolk 16 5 13 8 12 5 1 9 
			 North Yorkshire 16 6 18 8 15 6 31 12 
			 Northamptonshire 3 9 5 8 2 8 2 14 
			 Northumbria 50 21 38 22 55 20 35 18 
			 Nottinghamshire 51 25 48 13 52 13 53 11 
			 South Yorkshire 40 15 39 17 32 19 36 23 
			 Staffordshire 51 7 42 11 36 9 30 16 
			 Suffolk 23 1 25 7 18 6 24 3 
			 Surrey 19 5 21 5 27 5 10 5 
			 Sussex 35 7 39 11 21 17 38 12 
			 Thames Valley 42 15 31 15 42 12 35 16 
			 Warwickshire 2 2 7 1 7 1 3 3 
			 West Mercia 35 7 33 12 25 9 29 10 
			 West Midlands 155 37 205 27 169 52 151 51 
			 West Yorkshire 144 21 119 15 101 30 51 48 
			 Wiltshire 17 2 18 9 20 6 22 4 
			 Dyfed-Powys 12 2 19 2 10 2 23 4 
			 Gwent 28 7 33 16 38 9 35 6 
			 North Wales 23 2 22 5 6 6 19 6 
			 South Wales 63 10 77 20 50 17 64 23 
			 Total 1,923 494 2,150 548 1,967 583 1,809 644 
		
	
	
		
			  Police force area  2005  2006  2007 
			   Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt  Number found guilty  Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt  Number found guilty  Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt  Number found guilty 
			 Avon and Somerset 44 11 47 17 41 18 
			 Bedfordshire 16 8 14 5 8 8 
			 Cambridgeshire 17 9 16 6 19 6 
			 Cheshire 29 10 15 17 14 11 
			 City of London — — — — — — 
			 Cleveland 33 8 16 16 11 20 
			 Cumbria 9 6 10 5 9 9 
			 Derbyshire 52 12 28 20 35 14 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1 19 10 18 8 21 
			 Dorset 16 4 13 8 19 3 
			 Durham 25 8 25 7 22 4 
			 Essex 38 11 17 12 9 8 
			 Gloucestershire 12 3 14 13 26 5 
			 Greater Manchester 134 46 122 47 127 44 
			 Hampshire 71 27 32 30 65 25 
			 Hertfordshire 41 6 46 8 10 12 
			 Humberside 27 16 19 26 1 22 
			 Kent 35 17 44 17 33 26 
			 Lancashire 87 13 49 29 57 23 
			 Leicestershire 37 10 27 7 18 11 
			 Lincolnshire 19 13 7 7 6 6 
			 Merseyside 18 23 26 15 19 15 
			 Metropolitan Police 462 104 404 133 367 138 
			 Norfolk -6 10 11 14 1 11 
			 North Yorkshire 19 11 21 11 16 10 
			 Northamptonshire 12 7 0 12 7 9 
			 Northumbria 43 11 40 19 31 21 
			 Nottinghamshire 38 18 37 13 22 18 
			 South Yorkshire 26 35 38 25 23 24 
			 Staffordshire 32 13 38 8 p 20 20 
			 Suffolk 24 7 24 12 14 5 
			 Surrey 20 4 15 5 14 4 
			 Sussex 53 11 44 11 17 24 
			 Thames Valley 60 21 59 17 31 23 
			 Warwickshire 2 8 6 5 8 2 
			 West Mercia 35 11 20 14 15 9 
			 West Midlands 95 62 113 48 104 55 
			 West Yorkshire 62 48 24 37 32 42 
			 Wiltshire 27 3 10 11 13 7 
			 Dyfed-Powys 7 4 9 3 7 5 
			 Gwent 28 7 35 7 21 14 
			 North Wales 15 3 15 3 3 10 
			 South Wales 51 16 43 16 54 15 
			 Total 1,864 694 1,581 754 1,361 777 
			 (1) Includes  Rape of a female aged under 16—Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 1.  Rape of a female aged 16 or over—Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 1.  Rape of a male aged under 16—Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 1.  Rape of a male aged 16 or over—Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 1.  Rape of a female child under 13 by a male—Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 5.  Rape of a male child under 13 by a male—Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 5. (2 )"Where proceedings did not lead to a finding of guilt" covers defendants tried and found not guilty as well as proceedings that were discontinued or cases where no evidence was offered, charges were withdrawn or the judge ruled that there was no case to answer. (3 )Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher order of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (See also footnote (5)) (4 )These data are on the principal offence basis. (5 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Evidence and Analysis Unit.

Repossession Orders: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many court orders have been issued for the repossession of homes in West Chelmsford constituency in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: Although figures for the West Chelmsford constituency are not available, the following tables show the number of mortgage and landlord possession orders made in Chelmsford county court from 2003 onwards.
	The civil procedure rules state that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, Chelmsford county court covers areas other than West Chelmsford and therefore not all possession actions at this court will relate to this constituency.
	Court level statistics on mortgage and landlord repossession actions from 1987 to 2007 are available on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/mortgatelandlordpossession.htm
	These figures do not indicate how many homes have actually been repossessed. Repossessions can occur without a court order being made, while not all court orders result in repossession.
	
		
			  Table 1: Mortgage( 1 ) possession orders made( 4,5)  in the Chelmsford county court, 2003-08( *) 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 (January-September) 
			 Chelmsford 175 226 355 381 383 381 
			 HMCS South East Region 8,201 10,050 15,220 17,693 17,870 16,169 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Landlord( 2)  possession orders made( 3,4,5 ) in the Chelmsford county court, 2003-08* 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 (January-September) 
			 Chelmsford 347 337 266 313 332 274 
			 HMCS South East Region 20,336 19,834 19,157 18,093 19,177 16,044 
			 (1) Mortgage possession data include all types of lenders whether local authority or private. (2) Landlord possession data include all types of landlord whether social or private. (3) Includes orders made through both standard and accelerated procedures. Landlord actions via the accelerated procedure enables the orders to be made solely on the basis of written evidence and shorthold tenancies, when the fixed period of tenancy has come to an end. (4) Includes outright and suspended orders, the later being where the court grants the claimant possession but suspends the operation of the order. Provided the defendant complies with the terms of suspension, which usually require the defendant to pay the current mortgage or rent instalments plus some of the accrued arrears, the possession order cannot be enforced. (5) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. * Figures for 2008 are provisional  Source: Ministry of Justice

Royal Family: Wills

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  if he will publish sealed Royal Wills in cases where such Wills were sealed prior to 1990.
	(2)  if he will review his policy on the practice of allowing Royal wills to be sealed.

Jack Straw: The power to seal and unseal all Wills is exercised by the court. The decision whether or not to permit inspection of a Will of a senior member of the Royal Family that has been sealed by the court is a matter for the President of the Family Division upon application.
	The President is currently considering setting up a committee to review the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, which will include consideration of the current rules relating to the inspection and/or publication of Wills. The power to make new rules is vested in the President with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor.

Sentencing

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were released on home detention curfew in each year since 1999 have served  (a) one quarter of their sentence,  (b) 90 days less than half their sentence and  (c) 30 days of their sentence; for what offences were prisoners in each of those three bands originally convicted; and what the average length of the original sentence handed down to the offender in each of those three bands was.

David Hanson: The information requested on length on time served prior to release on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) could be provided by examining individual prisoner records only at disproportionate cost. However information is available on the number of prisoners released on HDC in each year from 1999-2007 by sentence length band, as shown in the following tables. These figures can be found in Prison Statistics England and Wales, 1999-2002 and Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2003-07, copies of which can be found in the House of Commons Library, and also on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonandprobation.htm.
	Eligible prisoners are not released on HDC unless they have served a minimum of one quarter of their sentence in custody, subject to a minimum of 30 days.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			  Home Detention Curfew release by sentence length—t aken from table 10.16 in OMCS 2007, 9. 13 in OMCS 2006 and earlier tables in OMCS and PSEW—England and Wales 
			   1999  2000  2001 
			   Population in sentence length band  Released  Release rate (%)  Population in sentence length band  Released  Release rate (%)  Population in sentence length band  Released  Release rate (%) 
			 Total 49,530 14,820 30 55,344 15,513 28 54,064 13,664 25 
			 All cases to less than 12 months 27,558 7,440 34 31,382 7,927 25 30,646 6,747 22 
			 3 months to less than 4 months 6,256 1,370 27 7,177 1,553 22 6,791 1,205 18 
			 4 months to less than 6 months 9,612 2,354 22 11,116 2,338 21 11,239 2,067 18 
			 6 months to less than 8 months 7,023 2,061 24 8,047 2,304 29 8,110 1,952 24 
			 8 months to less than 12 months 4,667 1,655 29 5,042 1,732 34 4,506 1,523 34 
			 12 months to less than 4 years 21,972 7,380 34 23,962 7,586 32 23,418 6,917 30 
		
	
	
		
			   2002  2003  2004 
			   Population in sentence length band  Released  Release rate (%)  Population in sentence length band  Released  Release rate (%)  Population in sentence length band  Released  Release rate (%) 
			 Total 55,370 20,525 37 57,551 21,223 37 55,810 19,294 35 
			 All cases to less than 12 months 30,574 10,680 35 32,098 10,533 33 32,012 10,205 32 
			 3 months to less than 4 months 6,439 1,695 26 6,605 1,619 25 6,592 1,419 22 
			 4 months to less than 6 months 11,876 4,055 34 13,228 4,299 32 13,293 4,210 32 
			 6 months to less than 8 months 7,843 2,956 38 7,606 2,679 35 7,568 2,659 35 
			 8 months to less than 12 months 4,416 1,974 45 4,659 1,936 42 4,559 1,917 42 
			 12 months to less than 4 years 24,796 9,804 40 25,453 10,690 42 23,798 9,089 38 
		
	
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007 
			   Population in sentence length band  Released  Release rate (%)  Population in sentence length band  Released  Release rate (%)  Population in sentence length band  Released  Release rate (%) 
			 Total 54,616 17,296 32 52,987 13,666 26 53,835 11,428 21 
			 All cases to less than 12 months 30,273 8,507 28 29,389 6,114 21 29,372 4,545 15 
			 3 months to less than 4 months 6,440 1,068 17 6,474 722 11 6,613 358 5 
			 4 months to less than 6 months 12,426 3,452 28 11,722 2,243 19 11,178 1,430 13 
			 6 months to less than 8 months 7,158 2,336 33 6,915 1,777 26 6,788 1,442 21 
			 8 months to less than 12 months 4,249 1,651 39 4,278 1,372 32 4,793 1,315 27 
			 12 months to less than 4 years 24,343 8,789 36 23,598 7,552 32 24,463 6,883 28

Trade Unions

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what meetings staff of the Courts Service have had with the relevant trades unions to discuss resources for the Courts Service in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11 in the last 12 months;
	(2)  what plans he has to consult the relevant trades unions on  (a) his Department's budget and  (b) planned alterations to that budget for 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Jack Straw: Planning work has been underway since September 2008 to determine how the Ministry of Justice will live within its spending review settlement, secure £1 billion of savings by 2010-11. Regular meetings have been held with the unions throughout this period, with the next planned meeting at the corporate level provisionally scheduled for 22 January 2009. Regular engagement has also been maintained at the business group and business area levels, where business area specific issues have been consulted, including HM Courts Services (HMCS).
	The budgets for business groups for 2009-10 will be published in the MOJ Corporate Plan on 19 January 2009, a copy of which together with other performance and efficiency related communications to staff will be shared with the unions ahead of wider circulation. The Corporate Plan will also be available in the Library of the House.
	Following issue of the Corporate Plan, business groups will work in earnest to develop their own business plans. These plans will address in detail how the Department will meet the performance and efficiency challenges. Going forward consultation will take place with the unions at a local level or, when appropriate, at a corporate level. For example the chief executive of HMCS plans to discuss budgetary allocations with the unions on 17 February.
	The recent pre-Budget report contained an announcement of an additional £5 billion value for money saving to be delivered in 2010-11 across the public sector. Decisions have yet to be made as to how those savings will be allocated between Departments but once this is clear we will need to consider the implications for us. This means it will be a little while before we can publish figures for that year. Once they have settled, we will share again details of the allocations with union colleagues.

Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the responses to his Department's recent consultation on the implementation of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.

Bridget Prentice: There have been several consultations by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) relating to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. The consultation "Transforming Tribunals Implementing Part 1 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007" ran from November 2007 to February 2008. Responses were published on the 19 May 2008. A copy of the response document was placed in the Library of both Houses.
	The consultation "Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007— Eligibility for judicial appointment" ran from February to April 2008 and responses were published on the 27 August. The response document is available on the MoJ website at:
	http://www.iustice.gov.uk/publications/consultations-with-response.htm.
	A copy of the response document will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
	The consultation "Administration and Enforcement Restriction Orders: setting the parameters" ran from January to April 2008 and a response paper will be published shortly.
	As with most MoJ consultations, all of these consultation papers contained a standard confidentiality clause. The individual responses of consultees, that did not indicate to the contrary, would therefore be available in an anonymised version from the MoJ for the first two consultations mentioned above. The response paper for the "Administration and Enforcement Restriction Orders: setting the parameters" consultation has not yet been published.

Victim Support Schemes

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much has been distributed from the Victims Fund in each year since its creation in 2004;
	(2)  which specialist services for victims of particular types of crime have received funding from the Government in each of the last five years; and how much was granted in each case.

Maria Eagle: Organisations providing specialist services for victims of crime receive resources from a wide range of funding streams. Information on this funding is not collated or held centrally.
	The Victims Fund was established in 2004 to help top-up local funding for specialist services for victims of crime. The following table shows the total distribution since its commencement:
	
		
			   £  
			 2008-09 1.25 million Sexual Violence Third Sector 
			  286,000 to date Hate Crime and Homicide initiatives 
			 Total 1.535million  
			
			 2007-08 1.25 million Sexual Violence Third Sector 
			  550,000 Hate Crime and Homicide initiatives 
			 Total 1.8 million  
			
			 2006-07 1.25 million Sexual Violence and Abuse Third Sector 
			
			 2005-06 to 2004-05 4 million Sexual Assault Referral Centres and Sexual Violence Third Sector

Young Offenders: Reoffenders

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps the Government is taking to reduce reoffending among young offenders.

David Hanson: There has been an 18.7 per cent. reduction in the frequency rate of youth reoffending between 2000 and 2006. The Youth Crime Action Plan, published in July 2008 details the cross-Government approach to reducing youth crime, including youth reoffending. It sets out a 'triple track' approach of enforcement and punishment where behaviour is unacceptable, non-negotiable support and challenge where it is most needed, and better and earlier prevention. The Youth Justice Board leads on the target of a 10 per cent. reduction by 2011 of the frequency rate of youth reoffending against the 2005 baseline, and is working with Departments, to influence the key services to ensure young people have access to mainstream and specialist services before, during and after justice.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged 11 to 18 years resident in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire were treated for alcohol-related problems in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: Information is not available in the format requested. Data are available for treatment of alcohol-related health problems, the number of admissions to hospital for alcohol and alcohol-related health problems. An individual may account for more than one admission.
	While it is possible to analyse the admissions data to determine the number of individuals aged 11-18 years admitted to hospital for alcohol and alcohol-related health problems, this could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	The following table gives the number of alcohol-related finished admissions for patients aged 11-18 by primary care trust (PCT) in the Hertfordshire area for each year from 2002-03 to 2006-07. 2006-07 is the latest year for which data are available. The figures relate to the number of admissions rather than the number of individuals: an individual may account for more than one admission.
	
		
			  Number of alcohol-related finished admissions for patients aged 11 to 18 resident in Hertfordshire 
			  PCT  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 East and North Hertfordshire 104 94 104 99 102 
			 West Hertfordshire 107 110 114 82 122 
			  Notes: Includes activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.  Small numbers To protect patient confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced with "*" (an asterisk). Where it was possible to identify numbers from the total due to a single suppressed number in a row or column, an additional number (the next smallest) has been suppressed.  Alcohol-related admissions The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO). Following international best practice, the NWPHO methodology includes a wide range of diseases and injuries in which alcohol plays a part and estimates the proportion of cases that are attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Details of the conditions and associated proportions can be found in the report Jones et al. (2008) "Alcohol-attributable fractions for England: Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions". Figures for under-16s only include admissions where one or more alcohol-specific conditions were listed. This is because the research on which the attributable fractions are based does not cover under-16s. Alcohol-specific conditions are those that are wholly attributed to alcohol—that is, those with an attributable fraction of one. They are: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (142.6) Alcoholic gastritis (K29.2) Alcoholic myopathy (G72.1) Alcoholic polyneuropathy (G62.1) Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome (E24.4) Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol (G31.2) Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10) Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (X45) Ethanol poisoning (T51.0) Methanol poisoning (T51.1) Toxic effect of alcohol, unspecified (T51.9).  Number of episodes in which the patient had an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosis These figures represent the number of episodes where an alcohol-related diagnosis was recorded in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-related diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record.  Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.  Secondary diagnoses As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.  Data Quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Antidepressants

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of anti-depressant drugs prescribing in  (a) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency,  (b) the Tees Valley,  (c) the North East and  (d) England in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The following table provides the net ingredient cost (NIC) of anti-depressant drugs prescribed in the community listed in British National Formulary (BNF) section 4.3 for the latest available 12 month period. Information is only available by health area and the information provided best fits the areas requested.
	
		
			  NIC of anti-depressant drugs listed in BNF section 4.3.— November 2007 to October 2008 
			   £000 
			 Stockton on Tees Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT) 1,087.7 
			 Middlesbrough PCT 1,179.9 
			 Redcar and Cleveland PCT 941.1 
			 North East Strategic Health Authority 16,814.4 
			 England 245,556.7 
			  Source:  Prescribing Analysis and CosT tool (ePACT) system

Aphasia: Research

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned into the causes and treatment of aphasia.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has funded the following current or recently completed projects of relevance to aphasia:
	assessing the effectiveness of communication therapy in the North West (Dr. Audrey Bowen, university of Manchester);
	the phoneme factory: producing a multimedia screening and therapy system for children with phonological disorders (Professor Sue Roulstone, North Bristol NHS Trust);
	speech-driven environmental control systems: new assistive technologies for disabled and elderly people (Professor Mark Hawley, university of Sheffield and Barnsley Hospitals NHS Trust); and
	evaluating communication impairment using technology-based transcriptionless discourse analysis measures: a demonstration of reliability and validity (Dr. Marian Brady, Glasgow Caledonian university).
	The NIHR clinical research network is also supporting a number of related studies. Details are available on the network's portfolio database at:
	www.ukcrn.org.uk/index/clinical/portfolio_new.html
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. The MRC is an independent body that receives its grant in aid from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
	Over the last five years, the MRC has funded four projects relevant to aphasia:
	finding the right words: predicting, and treating, spoken language production deficits after aphasic stroke (Dr. J. Crinion, University college London);
	normal and disordered language comprehension: a cognitive science approach (Professor L. Tyler, Birkbeck college);
	neural basis of words, meaning and syntax (Professor F. Pulvermuller, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit); and
	stroke recovery (Professor R. Wise, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre).

Chronic Disease Management

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Expert Patients programme course places there have been in each year since the programme was established; and what proportion of these course places were specific to musculoskeletal problems.

Ann Keen: Expert Patients Programme Community Interest Company was established in April 2007. For the period April 2007 to March 2008 they report that the number of course places delivered was 24,660. Figures for 2008-09 are not yet available. The Expert Patients Programme is a generic course and is open to anyone with a long term condition. Details are not available relating to the specific conditions that course participants live with, however Expert Patients Programme Community Interest Company estimate that 25 per cent. of course places are taken by people with musculoskeletal conditions.

Chronically Sick: Pupils

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent guidance his Department has given to primary care trusts on advice and support for teachers in  (a) developing school policy and  (b) providing support to individual pupils to assist children and young people discussed with long-term conditions to manage their condition effectively in schools.

Ann Keen: In March 2005, the Department of Children Schools and Families (DCSF) published "Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings" with contributions from Department of Health. However, that guidance was for teachers rather than primary care trusts (PCTs). The National Service Framework for Children, Families and Maternity (Children's NSF), published in 2004 included guidance for health and social care professionals as well as parents and children on managing long term conditions. For children with diabetes, the report 'Making every young person with diabetes matter' included a generic specification for children and young people. This included a section on managing diabetes in schools and early years settings. A copy of the report has already been placed in the Library.

Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the estimated cost is of testing for vCJD all those considered potentially at risk of having contracted vCJD after using infected blood products under the NHS; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of those considered to be potentially at risk of having contracted vCJD after using infected blood products under the NHS have been informed of their at risk status; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many haemophiliacs are estimated to be potentially at risk of having contracted vCJD after using infected blood products under the NHS; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how many people are estimated to be potentially at risk of having contracted vCJD after using infected blood products under the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: There are between 4,000 and 5,000 people, mostly haemophiliacs, currently considered at risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease because of exposure or potential exposure via blood products. The haemophiliacs have been informed of their risk status by the haemophilia doctors managing their care, and the general practitioners of those who are not haemophiliacs have been informed of the need to advise their patients appropriately. The cost of testing this group, should suitable tests become available, has not been estimated.

Dental Services: Fees and Charges

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  in what circumstances a dentist may charge a patient for  (a) descaling and  (b) cleaning and polishing after the first-tier check up;
	(2)  if he will initiate an investigation into the practice of dentists charging patients for descaling, cleaning and polishing following the first-tier check up; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many NHS dental patients  (a) were charged for and  (b) received free under the NHS descaling, cleaning and polishing following the first-tier treatment in the latest period for which information is available.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the number of courses of treatment delivered to charge payers and non-charge payers by treatment band in 2007-08 is available in Table 25 of "NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2007-08". This publication has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0708.
	National health service dental contracts require dentists to provide all proper clinically necessary dental care and treatment that the patient is willing to undergo. A band 1 course of treatment (diagnosis, treatment planning and maintenance) includes examination, diagnosis (for example x-rays), advice on how to prevent future problems, and scaling and polishing if clinically needed. Fee paying NHS patients will be charged £16.20 for a band 1 course of treatment. Those exempt from NHS charges receive treatment without charge.
	Patients who are assessed as not clinically needing a scale and polish are free to obtain it privately. As with any treatment if there is no clinical need for the patient to receive a scale and polish it is entirely appropriate that it is provided, if at all, outside the NHS.
	We take very seriously the need to ensure that all NHS patients receive clinically appropriate treatment. A dentist who identified a clinical need for a scale and polish under NHS treatment and then refused such care would be potentially in breach of contract. The NHS Business Services Authority is enhancing the role of the dental reference service to ensure that primary care trusts (PCTs) have the tools to check that dental care provided is appropriate to patients' needs. Patients who have concerns about any aspect of their dental care should in the first instance raise this with the practice and then if not satisfied, with the PCT.
	The independent review of NHS dentistry chaired by Professor Jimmy Steele will also look at how we can ensure that NHS dentists deliver consistently high quality care and provide the right level of preventative work. Professor Steele is due to publish his findings later in the year.

Direct Payments

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in England are eligible to receive direct payments; and how many of them have taken them up.

Phil Hope: Since 2003, councils have had a duty to offer direct payments to people found eligible for social services support. During 2007-08, around 1.75 million people of working age and older people used social care services either provided by their local council or commissioned on their behalf from private and voluntary organisations. As at March 2008, 73,540 people, including carers, used direct payments to buy the help they wanted.

Diseases: Children

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the incidence of  (a) diphtheria,  (b) tetanus and  (c) pertussis,  (d) Haemophilus influenzae type b,  (e) polio,  (f) meningitis C,  (g) measles,  (h) mumps,  (i) rubella and  (j) acellular pertussis was amongst children in (i) London and (ii) the rest of England in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information given is for the last three years for which data is available, and is set out in the following table. Data included in this table refers to the incidence of infections in children up to 15 years of age.
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007 
			   London  Rest of England  London  Rest of England  London  Rest of England 
			 Diphtheria(1) 1 0 0 2 0 0 
			 Tetanus 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Pertussis(2) 27 391 42 322 37 359 
			 Haemophilus Influenzae type b 4 41 6 42 9 31 
			 Polio 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Meningitis C 0 3 1 5 1 8 
			 Measles(3) 30 28 195 334 345 422 
			 Mumps(3) 220 1,823 67 322 21 137 
			 Rubella(3) 2 5 1 1 2 5 
			 (1 )Isolation of toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae or C ulcerans. (2) Notified cases of whooping cough. Acellular pertussis is a vaccine not a disease. (3) The number includes cases confirmed by both oral fluid IgM antibody tests and other laboratory reported cases.

Diseases: EU Action

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking in response to the European Commission's November 2008 Communication on Rare Diseases, Europe's Challenges, COM (2008) 679.

Dawn Primarolo: We broadly welcome the Council's Communication on Rare Diseases and the opportunity it presents for gathering further expertise, exchange of information and best practice between member states.
	United Kingdom Government representatives are now involved in continuing negotiations at the European Council about an EC recommendation about action on rare diseases, which we understand is intended to be published under the Czech presidency.

Health Hazards: Lighting

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has  (a) evaluated,  (b) commissioned and  (c) undertaken on the effects of the use of low-energy fluorescent bulbs on public health.

Dawn Primarolo: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) advises the Department on scientific matters concerning optical radiation including low energy light bulbs. The HPA tested a sample of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and found that some emitted ultraviolet radiation which could, under certain conditions, expose people above international guidelines. As a result of its findings, the HPA issued precautionary advice on 9 October 2008 to the general public concerning the use of open CFLs in close-working situations. The HPA's advice can be found at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1223445516605?p=1153822623869
	The HPA's research was considered alongside other available evidence to inform a report by the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR). SCENIHR's opinion on light sensitivity can be found at:
	http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/scenihr_opinions_en.htm
	During 2008, the Department undertook a literature review on lighting and light sensitive and neurological conditions.

HIV Infection

David Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how he intends to respond to the resolution of the European Parliament of 20 November 2008, addressed to all member states, on HIV/AIDS: early diagnosis and early care.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department is already responding to the actions for member states set out in the European Parliament's resolution on HIV and AIDS. HIV testing remains free and confidential and the Department continues to fund awareness campaigns for men-who-have-sex-with-men and African communities, the groups most at risk of HIV in the UK. These awareness campaigns are additional to the Condom Essential Wear campaign which targets young adults. The Department also funds the National AIDS Manual and the Terrence Higgins Trust for information and helpline services on HIV treatment and living with HIV. This year, the Department is also investing £750,000 in new work to reduce undiagnosed HIV.
	The Disability Discrimination Act provides protection for people with HIV in employment, education and in the provision of goods and services. There are no restrictions on the freedom of movement of people with HIV in the United Kingdom.

Mental Health Services: Prisoners

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prisoners have been transferred from prison to hospital for psychiatric care since 1997.

Phil Hope: The following table shows the number of transfers of mentally ill prisoners to more appropriate care in hospital under the Mental Health Act:
	
		
			   Number of prisoners 
			 1997 757 
			 1998 737 
			 1999 732 
			 2000 664 
			 2001 670 
			 2002 723 
			 2003 786 
			 2004 891 
			 2005 900 
			 2006 961 
			 2007 926 
			  Source:  Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	In 2007 the Department launched guidelines and conducted 17 pilots across the country to test more efficient protocols for speedier transfer. Since then the guidelines show a 28 per cent. improvement in transfer times and the Department plans to consider how this improvement could be rolled out across all prison sites.

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what national public health information his Department has provided to patients on the self-management of musculoskeletal conditions since publication of his Department's Musculoskeletal Services Framework on 12 July 2006.

Ann Keen: In October 2006 the Department in conjunction with the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) published, Information for people with bone and joint problems, this document has been placed in the Library. The NHS Choices website also gives guidance on the self-management of long-term conditions which can be found at:
	www.nhs.uk/YourHealth/Pages/Livingwithyourcondition.aspx.

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with joint pain he estimates referred themselves to a  (a) physiotherapist,  (b) chiropractor and  (c) osteopath without first visiting a GP in each year since 2005.

Ann Keen: The Department has made no such estimates.

Musculoskeletal Disorders: Health Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what national data are available to support primary care trusts in benchmarking local intervention rates in trauma and orthopaedics, as referred to on page 46 of his Department's Musculoskeletal Services Framework of July 2006.

Ann Keen: The 18 week programme has developed over 43 common commissioning pathways to support primary care trusts in commissioning services for their populations. In relation to trauma and orthopaedics pathways have been developed for carpal tunnel syndrome, hip, knee, shoulder and back pain which primary care trusts are using to plan for and manage demand for local services.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what means the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence assesses the implementation of its guidelines; and whether there are any plans to change those procedures.

Dawn Primarolo: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) does not routinely monitor the uptake or implementation of guidance by individual national health service organisations as this is currently the role of the Healthcare Commission.
	NICE's clinical guidelines are developmental standards for NHS organisations and the Government expect them to be fully implemented over time. In 2006-07, NHS organisations were asked to assess themselves against the 'clinical and cost-effectiveness' developmental standard which takes account of NICE's clinical guidelines. The self-assessments were independently validated by the Healthcare Commission and showed that 90 per cent. of NHS organisations were making excellent, good or fair progress towards implementing NICE's clinical guidelines.
	From April 2009, the Care Quality Commission will take over from the Healthcare Commission and will consider, in discussion with stakeholders including NICE, how to take account of NICE guidance as it develops its compliance criteria.

Prostate Cancer

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 23 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 523-4W, on prostate cancer, when the most recent round of peer review visits were carried out; what percentage of prostate cancer patients are being managed by multi-disciplinary team meetings; and what percentage of primary care trusts are managing all their prostate cancer patients by multi-disciplinary team meetings throughout their care.

Ann Keen: The most recent round of national cancer peer reviews took place from November 2004 to March 2007. Peer review looks at multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) by cancer network not by primary care trust.
	The most recent round of national cancer peer review showed that in 90 per cent. of local urology MDTs and in 94 per cent. of specialist urology MDTs, all new urological patients, including prostate cancer patients, were reviewed by the MDTs.
	The information requested on the management of patients by MDTs throughout their care is not available centrally.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions to hospital for rheumatoid arthritis there were in each year since 1991-92, broken down by  (a) sex,  (b) age and  (c) primary care trust area.

Ann Keen: Unfortunately we are unable to provide time series data as far back as 1991-92 as the quality of coverage of primary care trust of residence reduces heavily. Data from 1996-97 to 2006-07 have therefore been placed in the Library.

Smoking: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the  (a) number of regular smokers in (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire and  (b) number of people who have given up smoking in each of these areas over the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: Information is not available in the format requested. Data are available for West Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) and East and North Hertfordshire PCT. Hemel Hempstead is covered by East and North Hertfordshire PCT.
	Estimated prevalence of smokers among adults aged 16 and over, along with associated confidence intervals for West Hertfordshire PCT and East and North Hertfordshire PCT are available from "Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours: Model Based Estimates, 2003-2005. 2006 Health Hierarchy" and can be viewed at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statisticsanddatacollections/populationandgeography/neighbourhoodstatistics/neighbourhood-statistics:-model-based-estimates-of-healthy-lifestyle-behaviours-at-pco-level-2003-05
	Information on the number of people who successfully quit smoking at the four week follow up (based on self report) in West Hertfordshire PCT and East and North Hertfordshire PCT in the last year 2007-08 are available from the "Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services: England, April 2007 to March 2008", Table 3.5, pages 28-30. This publication has already been placed in the Library.

Smoking: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many adults aged 35 years and over were admitted to hospital with diseases caused by smoking in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire in (i) 1996-97 and (ii) 2006-07.

Dawn Primarolo: Information is not available in the format requested. Data for 1996-97 are unavailable. Data is not collected for Hemel Hempstead and Hertfordshire. Data for East and North Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) and West Hertfordshire PCT are available for 2006-07. Hemel Hempstead is covered by East and North Hertfordshire PCT.
	Figures are available and provided on the number of admissions in national health service hospitals for those aged 35 and over with a primary diagnosis of diseases that can be caused by smoking and estimates of the number of those admissions that are attributable to smoking.
	The following table shows the number of admissions for those aged 35 and over with a primary diagnosis of various diseases that can be caused by smoking and estimates of the number of those admissions that can be attributed to smoking. Figures have been provided for 2006-07 in East and North Hertfordshire PCT and West Hertfordshire PCT. It is acknowledged that not all of the observed admissions included in the table will be attributable to smoking as there are other contributory factors to these diseases. Therefore the relative risks of these diseases for current and ex-smokers, compared to non-smokers have been used to estimate smoking-attributable admissions.
	
		
			  NHS( 1)  hospital admissions( 2)  for primary diagnosis( 3)  of diseases that can be caused by smoking and those attributable to smoking, 2006-07 
			  Number 
			   Observed admissions( 4)  Smoking attributable admissions( 5) 
			 East and North Hertfordshire 11,733 3,400 
			 West Hertfordshire 12,834 3,500 
			 (1 )The data include private patients in NHS hospitals (but not private patients in private hospitals) (2 )A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (3 )The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. (4) Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data. Observed admissions only includes those where gender was recorded. (5 )Estimated attributable number, rounded to the nearest 100.  Notes: 1. Figures exclude records where gender was unknown or not specified as relative risks used to calculate attributable admissions are gender specific. 2. Figures exclude records where country of residence was not confirmed as England.  Source: NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care

Social Services: Standards

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of care services met each of the Commission for Social Care Inspection's national minimum standards in  (a) England and  (b) each local authority area in 2007-08.

Phil Hope: We are informed by the Commission for Social Care Inspection that information is available broken down by type of service—each has its own set of national minimum standards—for the most recently completed inspection year, which ended on 31 March 2008.
	This information has been placed in the Library.

Suicide

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the cost to primary care trusts of carrying out suicide audits; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of removing suicide audits from the star ratings performance assessment of primary care trusts in ensuring primary care trusts undertake comprehensive suicide audits; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many primary care trusts conducted suicide audits in each year from 2002 to 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: No assessment on either the cost to primary care trusts (PCTs) in carrying out suicide audits or the effect of removing suicide audits from the Annual Health Check performance assessment of PCTs has been made. The mental health National Service Framework, published in 1999, made it a requirement for all local services to develop a local system for suicide audit to learn lessons from suicides and take necessary action. We published a toolkit "Suicide audit in Primary Care Trust localities" in October 2006 to support them in this task. A copy has been placed in the Library. The information on the number of PCTs conducting suicide audits is not collected centrally.

Tuberculosis: Vaccination

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which health authorities in Greater London provide free BCG vaccinations to all children.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccinations in London is available by primary care trust (PCT). The following PCTs in the London strategic health authority provide BCG vaccinations to all children:
	Brent;
	Camden;
	City and Hackney;
	Ealing;
	Greenwich;
	Hammersmith and Fulham;
	Haringey;
	Harrow;
	Hillingdon;
	Hounslow;
	Islington;
	Kensington and Chelsea;
	Lambeth;
	Lewisham;
	Newham;
	Redbridge;
	Southwark;
	Tower Hamlets;
	Waltham Forest; and
	Westminster.

Vaccination: Religious Practice

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the vaccines for  (a) diptheria,  (b) tetanus,  (c) pertussis,  (d) polio,  (e) Haemophilus influenza type b,  (f) pneumococcal conjugate,  (g) meningitis C,  (h) MMR and  (i) HPV available for use by GPs are halal; what halal alternatives are available for those which are not; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal, Meningitis C, and HPV do not contain gelatine according to the summary of product characteristics provided by the manufacturers. Two MMR vaccines are available; one MMR vaccine—MMRVAXPRO—contains gelatine, the other MMR vaccine—Priorix—does not contain gelatine.
	Vaccines that contain gelatine may not be considered halal. However, the Muslim Council of Britain supports the use of these vaccines and has always advised that vaccination must always be offered to all individuals identified to be at risk of communicable disease in order to prevent disease and deaths and have urged the Muslim community to continue to participate in the immunisation programmes to protect our children and adults from serious and potentially fatal infections.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Departmental Catering

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which  (a) food and  (b) drinks suppliers have been used by his Department in each of the last three years; and how much his Department paid to each such supplier in each of those years.

Lee Scott: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which  (a) food and  (b) drinks companies have supplied the Prime Minister's Office in each of the last three years; and how much was paid to each of those suppliers in each of those three years.

Kevin Brennan: The Prime Minister's Office forms an integral part of the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office's Total Facilities Management (TFM) contract is with EcovertFM. Other companies that have been used to supply food and drink can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Fuels: Excise Duties

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent representations he has received on the effects on the voluntary sector of increased fuel duty.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Members: Security

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many representations have been received by the House authorities from back-bench hon. Members on security matters relating specifically to  (a) themselves,  (b) their family and  (c) their property in the last five years.

Nick Harvey: It is not the policy of the House authorities to answer questions on security matters.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Human Trafficking: Prosecutions

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were prosecuted for offences relating to the trafficking of human beings for  (a) the sex trade and  (b) illegal labour in each year since 1997.

Alan Campbell: Human trafficking was criminalised with the introduction of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004.
	While the numbers of prosecutions for the offences of human trafficking is not held centrally by the Home Office there have to date been 92 convictions for trafficking for sexual exploitation and four for trafficking for forced labour.

Police Stations: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police stations in Essex were not open to the public in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: The management of the police estate and allocation of resources are matters for Essex police authority and the Chief Constable of Essex, who are responsible for assessing local needs.

Police: Dual Jobholding

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines apply to police officers on involvement in business activities outside their employment within the police force; and whether she plans to revise those guidelines.

Vernon Coaker: Under the Police Regulations 2003 police officers must declare and obtain approval from their chief police officer for undertaking business interests. We have no plans to change existing policy.

Stop and Search

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) people and  (b) people under 18 years of age have been stopped and searched under the Terrorism Act 2000 in each of the last eight years.

Vernon Coaker: Information on the number of persons stopped and searched under section 44 (sections 1 and 2) of the Terrorism Act 2000, from 1999-2000 to 2006-07 (latest available) are provided in the following table.
	From the information reported to the Home Office it is not possible to separately identify the age of persons searched.
	
		
			  Searches of pedestrians, vehicles and occupants under sections 44(1) and 44(2) of the Terrorism Act 2000( 1) , 1999-2000 to 2006-07, England and Wales 
			  Stops and searches in order to prevent acts of terrorism 
			   Total searches 
			 1999-2000 1,900 
			 2000-01 6,400 
			 2001-02 10,200 
			 2002-03 32,100 
			 2003-04 33,800 
			 2004-05(2) 37,000 
			 2005-06 50,000 
			 2006-07 41,900 
			 (1) Formerly sections 13A and 13B of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 and repealed under the Terrorism Act 2000 (which came into force on 19 February 2001). (2) Figures updated since publication of the 2004-05 Bulletin.

Telecommunications: Databases

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated  (a) set-up and  (b) running costs of the interception modernisation programme are.

Vernon Coaker: The Interception Modernisation Programme (IMP) will require a substantial level of investment which will need to tie in with the Government's three year CSR periods. The scale of overall economic investment is very difficult to calculate because of the complexity of the programme and wide ranging implementation solutions currently being considered.
	Given the commercial and national security sensitivities, the precise costs of the programme cannot be disclosed. Further detail on budgetary estimates for the IMP will however become available once the public consultation process (announced by the Home Secretary on 15 October 2008) commences.

Terrorism

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the proportion of an anti-terrorist police officer's time taken up  (a) by anti-terrorist work and  (b) in the detection of other forms of criminal activity.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office does not hold such information centrally. Significant Government investment has enabled the police service to establish a network of dedicated police counter terrorism units. Specialist officers within those units, while focused on counter terrorism work, remain under the direction and control of local chief officers.

TREASURY

Bank Services: Overseas Workers

Alan Beith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of money laundering prevention measures on the availability of UK bank accounts to UK citizens living and working abroad.

Ian Pearson: h olding answer 18 December 2008
	 I am advised that money laundering requirements, principally the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, and other anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance legislation, are not a determining factor in banks' decisions to make available UK personal current accounts or savings accounts to persons without an address in the UK. I understand that decisions are taken largely on commercial grounds.

Banks: EU Grants and Loans

Michael Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the monetary value of the loans made available to United Kingdom banks by the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the scheme announced on 30 October 2008 was on 12 January 2008; which United Kingdom banks have applied for funds; when each first applied; how much each received from the EIB; how many businesses have accessed the funds from each; and what the average number of employees of these businesses is.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 19 January 2009
	Since 30 October 2008, the following EIB loans for SMEs have been agreed between the EIB and UK banks:
	Barclays signed a £150 million loan on 16 December 2008;
	HBOS signed a £250 million loan on 18 December 2008; and
	RBS signed a £250 million loan on 23 December 2008.
	This means that since the reform by the EIB of its SME financing products in September 2008, a total of £1 billion of EIB loans for SMEs were made available by the end of last year. Further negotiations with a number of UK banks for additional new lending are ongoing.
	The Government do not currently hold information on the number of firms to have accessed the agreed funding. The Government continue to work closely with all UK banks to monitor their progress on drawing down and disbursing EIB loans.
	With regard to the number of employees of recipient SMEs, EIB rules state that its funding is available for businesses with 250 employees or less, consistent with the European Commission's definition of SMEs.

Banks: Government Assistance

David Howarth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the oral statement of 19 January 2009, on financial markets, by what authority he has authorised the Bank of England to create the £50 billion fund to purchase corporate assets from banks.

Ian Pearson: Arrangements for the Debt Management Office (DMO) to make finance available to the Bank of England are set out in paragraph 6.9 of the Debt and Reserves Management Report 2008-09.

Banks: Guernsey

John Butterfill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what conditions the Financial Services Authority attached to its approval of the sale by the Portman Building Society of its Guernsey subsidiary to Landsbanki;
	(2)  what discussions the Financial Services Authority (FSA) had with the Portman Building Society on its application to establish a wholly-owned banking subsidiary in Guernsey; and what assurances the FSA received in respect of  (a) the terms of business of the subsidiary and  (b) the protection and indemnification of depositors.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 19 January 2009
	I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 13 January 2009,  Official Report, column 569W.

Banks: Iceland

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has made on behalf of  (a) Guernsey,  (b) Jersey and  (c) the Isle of Man to the Icelandic Government on the consequences of the Icelandic banking collapses in 2008.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 19 January 2009
	In line with usual constitutional arrangements, the Government will represent the Crown Dependencies in its negotiations with the Icelandic authorities.
	Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.
	Jersey does not have a branch or subsidiary of an Icelandic bank, and is therefore not part of these discussions.

Banks: Isle of Man

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take urgent steps to protect UK citizens who had deposits in Isle of Man banks.

Ian Pearson: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for New Forest, West (Mr. Swayne) on 5 November 2008,  Official Report, column 539W.

Banks: Isle of Man

John Butterfill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what discussions the Financial Services Authority (FSA) had with the Derbyshire Building Society on its application to establish a wholly-owned banking subsidiary in the Isle of Man; and what assurances the FSA received in respect of  (a) the terms of business of the subsidiary and  (b) the protection and indemnification of depositors;
	(2)  what conditions the Financial Services Authority attached to its approval of the sale by the Derbyshire Building Society of its Isle of Man subsidiary to Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 19 January 2009
	I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) on 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1902W.

Banks: Regulation

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings Ministers in his Department have held to review  (a) capital ratios and  (b) liquidity requirements for banks in the last three months.

Ian Pearson: As the Memorandum of Understanding between HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the FSA sets out, the tripartite authorities have regular meetings to work together towards the common objective of financial stability in the UK.

Banks: Regulation

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what provisions the Government is making for any future  (a) losses and  (b) capital requirement of banks in which UK Financial Investments has a stake;
	(2)  how his Department plans to account for any  (a) profits earned and  (b) losses sustained by (i) the Royal Bank of Scotland and (ii) Northern Rock.

Ian Pearson: UK Financial Investments Limited (UKFI), which is wholly owned by the Government, manages the Government's investments in the recapitalised banks but ownership of the shares of the recapitalised banks still lies with HM Treasury.
	The Government will assess the need for any impairment or profit on our investments in the banks in accordance with our accounting policies and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Manual (FReM). Any amounts will be disclosed in HM Treasury's Resource Accounts in due course.

Banks: Regulation

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what instructions the Government has issued to the Royal Bank of Scotland in the last six months;
	(2)  how many meetings Ministers in his Department have held with  (a) staff and  (b) directors of the Royal Bank of Scotland in the last six months.

Ian Pearson: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.

Banks: Regulation

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many meetings Ministers in his Department have had with  (a) directors and  (b) staff of Northern Rock since its entering into temporary public ownership;
	(2)  what the policy of Northern Rock is on the payment of bonuses to  (a) staff and  (b) directors in respect of (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009;
	(3)  how many  (a) employees and  (b) directors of Northern Rock were paid more than £100,000 in 2008;
	(4)  what Northern Rock's level of mortgage lending is; and what it was in January 2008.

Ian Pearson: During this period of temporary public ownership, Northern Rock is managed by its Board at arm's length from the Government on commercial principles. It is a matter for the company's management to release specific business updates or provide any required disclosures in their audited annual report and accounts.
	Under the Northern Rock Shareholder Relationship Framework Document the Government require that executive incentivisation be linked to delivery of the objectives set out in the business plan. Individual executive bonuses are for the Board's Remuneration Committee to determine, taking account of performance against the objectives set in the business plan. Staff pay and incentivisation arrangements are a matter for the company.
	Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Banks: Regulation

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what investigations  (a) his Department,  (b) the Bank of England and  (c) the Financial Services Authority have made into securitisation practices (i) in the UK and (ii) by British companies internationally.

Ian Pearson: The tripartite authorities have been working in both national and international forums to produce analysis and policy recommendations on improving the operation of securitisation markets and enhancing transparency and valuation. Details of these can be found in 'Financial stability and depositor protection: strengthening the framework', published in January 2008 (Cm7308), 'Financial stability and depositor protection: further consultation', published in July 2008 (Cm7436). Furthermore, on 9 April 2008, the Chancellor announced that Sir James Crosby would provide advice to the Government on options for improving the function of mortgage finance markets, working closely with mortgage industry experts. This was published alongside the 2008 pre-Budget report on 24 November and sets out Sir James' recommendations.
	The documents can be found at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/financial_stability_depositor.htm
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/financial_stability_framework.htm
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/fin_mort_crosby.htm

Child Tax Credit

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 275W, how much his Department has spent on child tax credit payment to individuals subject to control orders in each year since 2005.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available in the format requested. Applications for child tax credit do not establish whether an applicant is subject to a control order. This information is therefore not readily available.

Churches: Repairs and Maintenance

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to issue a report on funding assistance for the repair of church buildings.

Barbara Follett: I have been asked to reply.
	Work to finalise a report jointly written by Government Departments and the Church of England is ongoing. Its primary purpose is to explore and address any barriers that exist to places of worship accessing funding to support community action projects.
	The report will set out the funding assistance available to faith-based and other third sector organisations to support community initiatives that could be used for enhancements to places of worship.
	The report will be published in the coming weeks and I will arrange for copies to be laid in the Libraries of both Houses.

Derbyshire Building Society

John Butterfill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that guarantees by Derbyshire Building Society which were transferred to the Icelandic government are honoured in full.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 20 January 2009
	Derbyshire Offshore (the trading name for Derbyshire Building Society's Isle of Man subsidiary) was established in the Isle of Man in 1990 and was regulated by the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission.
	Arrangements for depositors in banks in the Isle of Man are a matter for the Government of the Isle of Man.
	In line with usual constitutional arrangements, the UK Government will represent the Crown dependencies in their negotiations with the Icelandic authorities.

Economic and Monetary Union

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the President of the European Commission on Britain's prospective membership of the euro.

Ian Pearson: Treasury Ministers discuss a wide range of issues with their counterparts in other countries, as well as the European Commission. The Government's policy on membership of the single currency is unchanged. It remains as set out by the Chancellor in his statement to the House of Commons in October 1997, and again in the Chancellor's statement on the five tests assessment in June 2003.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on the terms on which  (a) banks and  (b) building societies will contribute to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme levy; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is an independent organisation set up under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. It is responsible for setting levies on firms within the rules and limits set by the Financial Services Authority. These rules also specify the levies that may be collected from each class of firm and the apportionment of levies between individual firms within each class.
	Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.

Government Contracts

Nick Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the Office of Government Commerce's guidance on including general break clauses in government contracts.

Angela Eagle: The guidance has been placed in the Library.

Income Tax

Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many higher rate income tax payers there are in each parliamentary constituency.

Stephen Timms: The number of individual income taxpayers by constituency can be found in table 3.15 'Income and tax by Parliamentary Constituency' on HM Revenue and Customs' website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/menu-by-year.htm#315
	Estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes, of which 2005-06 is currently the latest available. Estimates for 2006-07 will be published at the end of January.
	Reliable information on the number of higher rate taxpayers at constituency level is not currently available.

Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander: Isle of Man

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the potential liability to the public purse of guaranteeing the deposits of UK citizens in the Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander Isle of Man bank for  (a) all deposits,  (b) deposits up to £50,000 and  (c) deposits up to £100,000.

Ian Pearson: Deposits with Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander, Isle of Man, will be subject to the Isle of Man Deposit Compensation Scheme. This scheme is administered by the Isle of Man authorities.

Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander: Isle of Man

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to protect investors who originally banked with the Derbyshire Building Society but who subsequently found themselves customers of Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander Isle of Man bank.

Ian Pearson: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) on 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1902W.

Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander: Isle of Man

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Isle of Man authorities on UK citizens' savings that were deposited with Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander Isle of Man bank.

Ian Pearson: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.

Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander: Isle of Man

John Butterfill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the government of the Isle of Man regarding funding to enable the Isle of Man to compensate British depositors with Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 20 January 2009
	Arrangements for depositors in banks in the Isle of Man are a matter for the Government of the Isle of Man.
	Deposits with Kaupthing, Singer and Friedlander, Isle of Man, will be subject to the Isle of Man deposit compensation scheme.

Landsbanki: Guernsey

Mark Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of the collapse of Landsbanki Guernsey.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 15 December 2008
	 Arrangements for depositors in banks in Guernsey are a matter for the Government of Guernsey.

Landsbanki: Guernsey

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will meet representatives of UK nationals who were depositors with Landsbanki Guernsey to discuss their position.

Ian Pearson: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.
	In line with usual constitutional arrangements, the UK Government will represent the Crown dependencies in their negotiations with the Icelandic authorities.

Members: Correspondence

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter of 27 October 2008 from the hon. Member for Hazel Grove on a constituent's difficulties regarding the collapse of Lansbanki.

Ian Pearson: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Financial Services Secretary hopes to be in a position to reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when a reply will be sent to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood's letter of 28 November 2008 on behalf of Gordon Ferguson of the Kaupthing Banking Group.

Ian Pearson: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Financial Services Secretary hopes to be in a position to reply to the right hon. Member shortly.

Public Sector: Procurement

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the merits of proposals to introduce a single on-line pre-qualification questionnaire for small businesses to access public procurement projects.

Angela Eagle: The Glover Committee report, "Accelerating the SME Economic Engine" published on the HMT website in November 2008, made 12 recommendations to improve SME access to public procurement including:
	"Qualification criteria that are not specific to a sector should be standardised and incorporated in all pre-qualification questionnaires so that businesses do not need to repeatedly submit the same core information in different formats."
	Government are currently implementing these recommendations.

Revenue and Customs: Leicester

David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of  (a) redundancy payments to staff who are unable to relocate and  (b) daily travel allowance payments to staff relocating to other offices resulting from HM Revenue and Customs' decision to close two offices in Leicester; and what the estimated annual saving in accommodation costs as a result of the closure of these two offices is.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 19 January 2009
	HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is vacating one office in Leicester, Attenborough House. Enkalon House, which formerly housed one member of HMRC staff, has already been vacated.
	HMRC expects staff to relocate with their teams to another office within reasonable daily travel, almost all of them to one of the two offices in Leicester that are being retained, Saxon House and City Gate House. Daily Travel Assistance (DTA) may be payable to individual members of staff who incur additional costs in commuting to a new office. The total cost of DTA for staff relocating from Attenborough House will not be known until solutions have been found for all staff involved, but is unlikely to be substantial. As HMRC expects that staff will relocate, no estimate has been made of potential redundancy costs.
	The closure of Attenborough House, Leicester will contribute to estimated estate savings of £10.4 million per year in the east midlands. These savings are only part of the overall savings HMRC expects to achieve as a result of business efficiencies arising from restructuring.
	HMRC is unable to disclose the estate savings for a particular office on grounds of commercial sensitivity.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if HM Revenue and Customs will establish a hotline for hon. Members to contact them on behalf of constituents on matters other than tax credits.

Stephen Timms: A list of HMRC helplines for hon. Members is available on the parliamentary website.
	HMRC operates a child benefit helpline for hon. Members as well as one for tax credits. There are no current plans to expand telephone hotline services for hon. Members but the situation is kept under review.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue received by the Exchequer in stamp duty land tax since the announcement of the stamp duty holiday in September 2008; what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of the stamp duty holiday; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the stamp duty holiday on the housing market.

Ian Pearson: Since the advent of the stamp duty land tax holiday in September stamp duty land tax receipts for the three months from September to November 2008 have amounted to £1.1 billion.
	The estimated exchequer cost of the stamp duty land tax holiday, published in the pre-Budget report, was £280 million.
	It is too early to make an assessment of the effect of the stamp duty land tax holiday on the housing market.

Tax Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the effect on public expenditure of removing the second income threshold on tax credits and applying a consistent taper rate of  (a) 46 per cent.,  (b) 45 per cent.,  (c) 44 per cent. and  (d) 43 per cent. in each of the next five years; if he will estimate the number of people who would no longer be eligible for tax credits in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 20 January 2009
	The estimated saving, in 2009-10 to 2013-14, of removing the second income threshold and applying a consistent taper rate at each of the rates requested, is provided in the following table. No account has been taken of possible behavioural effects.
	
		
			  Effect on expenditure 
			  £ million 
			  Taper rate  2009-10  2010-11  2011-12  2012-13  2013-14 
			 46 per cent. -2,590 -2,670 -2,670 -2,750 -2,810 
			 45 per cent. -2,380 -2,460 -2,460 -2,520 -2,570 
			 44 per cent. -2,160 -2,230 -2,230 -2,280 -2,310 
			 43 per cent. -1,930 -2,000 -1,990 -2,020 -2,040 
		
	
	These changes would not affect the number of claimants eligible for tax credits. However, they would increase the number of claimants with awards reduced to zero.

Taxation: Part-time Employment

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the merits of providing tax exemptions to encourage part-time work, with particular reference to the likely effects of such a policy on small businesses.

Stephen Timms: The decision to employ part- or full-time employees is a commercial decision, specific to the circumstances of the employer.
	National insurance contributions are paid proportionately on the hours an employee works, whether part- or full-time.
	The Part Time Workers Directive means that part-time workers cannot be treated any less favourably than comparable full-time workers.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers were penalised £100 for late tax returns for the tax year 2006-07; and how many of them appealed  (a) successfully and  (b) unsuccessfully against that penalty.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) issued penalty notices for failing to file 2006-07 Income Tax self-assessment tax returns on time to 1,110,023 customers to the end of December 2008.
	Information on the number of appeals resolved (either successfully or unsuccessfully) is not available. However, 85,175 customers had their penalty notices cancelled in that period and 317,849 customers had their penalties capped.

Taxation: Small Businesses

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received advocating the reduction of payroll taxes for small businesses; and what assessment he has made of those representations.

Stephen Timms: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.

Terrorism: Finance

John Leech: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much funding has been frozen in the UK in each of the last five years due to suspected or proven links to terrorist organisations.

Ian Pearson: The Treasury reports quarterly to Parliament on the exercise of its powers under these orders. This report includes the total amount and number of funds frozen as at the end of each period. As of 30 September 2008, a total of 252 separate accounts containing approximately £670,000 of suspected terrorist funds were frozen in the UK. The next report, covering the period October 2008 to December 2008, will be laid shortly.
	The figure is based on balances reported at the time of freezing and represents funds frozen under the Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Orders 2001 and 2006 and the Al-Qaeda and Taliban (United Nations Measures) Orders 2001 and 2006. Money may be frozen under these orders on a number of different grounds, not all of which require a suspected or proven link to a terrorist organisation.
	The figure does not include action taken under other counter-terrorist legislation which are not within the remit of HM Treasury.
	The Treasury does not publish a historic breakdown of frozen or unfrozen funds for each year, due to the need to avoid the identification, directly or indirectly, of personal or operationally sensitive information.

Written Ministerial Statements

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer at what time his Department makes written ministerial statements available to  (a) hon. Members and  (b) members of the press; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: Announcements are made in accordance with the provisions set out in the ministerial code.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Fuel Poverty

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate is of the level of fuel poverty in the UK.

Joan Ruddock: The most recently published estimate of fuel poverty shows that there were around 3.5 million fuel poor households living in the UK in 2006.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress has been made towards the Government's target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent. by 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: We expect CO2 emissions to fall to about 15 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2010, taking into account the impact of credits surrendered through the EU emissions trading scheme. Our goal, which we adopted in 1997, was challenging, but that was its purpose. It was designed to give a clear signal of the direction in which policy was moving, allowing long term planning and stimulating innovative responses. In these respects it has been successful.

Nuclear Power

Andrew Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had on Government policy for the future of nuclear power; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Miliband: Government are engaging regularly with a wide range of stakeholders on the future of nuclear new build in the UK, including industry.
	I have had meetings on numerous matters concerning my energy portfolio which includes nuclear power.

Domestic Energy

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the average annual cost of domestic energy to consumers.

Mike O'Brien: The Department publishes estimates of annual bills in its publication Quarterly Energy Prices and on the web. The estimates are based on annual usage of 3,300 kWh for electricity and 18,000 kWh for gas. These show that in 2008 the average bill for a consumer paying by standard credit was £975 (£405 for electricity and £570 for gas). Data split by region and by other payment methods are available in the publication.

Nuclear Generation

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the nuclear generation capacity that will come on-stream in the next 10 years.

Mike O'Brien: Our modelling projects that at the end of 2025 total nuclear capacity in most scenarios is expected to be at least 10GW, just a little lower than the current level of 11GW.

Electricity Generation

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect of the current economic climate on levels of expenditure on new electricity generation plants.

Mike O'Brien: Along with the regulator Ofgem, I am closely monitoring the effects of the current economic climate on the energy sector, including on investment plans. There are signs of the willingness of investors to continue to develop new generation capacity with some 9 gigawatts of new electricity plant currently under construction. In addition some 3 gigawatts of new plant has received consent, while consent applications with a further 4.5 gigawatts have also been received.

Electricity Generation

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of  (a) the UK's electricity generation capacity and  (b) the spending required to sustain that capacity over the next 10 years.

Mike O'Brien: The UK currently has 75 GW of installed electricity generating capacity.
	There are various estimates but some industry estimates suggest that up to £100 billion investment in new electricity generation capacity will be required over the next 10 years to replace those power stations expected to close and build the new renewable generation needed to meet the electricity sector's contribution towards the EU's 2020 target for 20 per cent. of energy consumption in the UK to come from renewable energy sources.

On-Shore Wind Farms

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he next expects to meet representatives of local authorities in East Anglia to discuss on-shore wind farms in that area.

Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has no planned meetings with representatives of local authorities in East Anglia to discuss onshore wind farms in that area.

Save Energy Save Money Campaign

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government's Save Energy Save Money advertising campaign; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The Government launched the new phase of the Act On CO2 campaign in September 2008. Initial evaluation of the campaign has shown a favourable response with over 550,000 unique visitors to the campaign website since its launch and over 270,000 calls to the Act On CO2 advice line between August and November 2008. This is more than double the number of calls the line received over the same period in 2007.

Smart Meters

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans his Department has to encourage the provision of smart meters for domestic energy customers.

Mike O'Brien: The Government announced on 28 October last year that we will mandate the provision of smart meters to all households. We have also set out an indicative timetable for this programme under which roll-out would be completed by the end of 2020.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Forces

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has taken steps to establish an independent and effective vetting process to exclude individuals suspected of having committed crimes under international law or other human rights violations from its security forces.

Gillian Merron: The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has yet to make a serious effort to implement vetting mechanisms called for in UN Security Council resolutions 1856 (2008), 1794 and 1820.
	We support ongoing work by the UN integrated Human Rights Office to document abuses by individuals in the armed and security forces, which could usefully inform work on a future vetting mechanism. We have raised the issue with Congolese authorities. Most recently, our ambassador in Kinshasa referred to the importance of vetting in the armed forces in a speech to the Congolese Parliament at the showing of a documentary on sexual violence.

Embassies: Finance

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1048-9W, on exchange rates, which 10 overseas posts have had the greatest reduction in the purchasing power of their local budgets; and what the reduction has been in each case.

Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office maintains an overseas pricing movement (OPM) mechanism, intended to negate the impact of changes in exchange rates on the budgets of overseas posts. The OPM increases or decreases the sterling budget of posts when there is a change in the value of sterling relative to local currencies. This ensures that posts purchasing power is kept consistent.
	The following table shows the 10 posts most affected by exchange rate fluctuations and the resulting change in budget due to the last OPM exercise completed in October 2008.
	
		
			  Ranking  Country  Post  Initial budget  (£)  OPM uplift  (£)  New OPM uplift  (percentage)  New budget  (£) 
			 1 Moldova Chisinau 276,425 94,596 34.22 371,021 
			 2 Czech Republic Prague 1,367,901 453,943 33.19 1,821,844 
			 3 Poland Warsaw 1,899,370 615,929 32.43 2,515,299 
			 4 Georgia Tbilisi 751,724 221,919 29.52 973,643 
			 5 Slovakia Bratislava 514,504 149,465 29.05 663,969 
			 6 Israel Tel Aviv 2,021,378 577,534 28.57 2,598,912 
			 7 Brazil Sao Paulo 1,741,230 334,880 19.23 2,076,110 
			 8 Brazil Brasilia 2,756,710 529,071 19.19 3,285,781 
			 9 Brazil Rio de Janeiro 1,361,791 259,488 19.05 1,621,279 
			 10 Switzerland Berne 2,102,964 400,347 18.70 2,542,885

Ethiopia: Eritrea

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the UK's role is in resolving the Ethiopia-Eritrea border dispute; and what  (a) funding and  (b) staff resources he has allocated to this function.

Gillian Merron: The UK's policy towards the Ethiopia-Eritrea border dispute has three aims: to avoid any return to war; for the border to be demarcated; and for the parties to normalise their relations. Ethiopia and Eritrea should agree a way forward to allow demarcation to proceed and for a normalisation process to begin, as set out in the Algiers Agreements of June and December 2000, to which both Ethiopia and Eritrea are signatories.
	My right hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Mr. McNulty) the then Minister for Counter Terrorism and Immigration discussed the border issue when meeting the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on a visit to the horn of Africa in June 2008. My noble Friend, the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch-Brown also discussed this issue with the Eritrean ambassador in December 2008. In addition, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials regularly reiterate these messages to both the Ethiopian and Eritrean ambassadors to London and to their interlocutors in the Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea in Addis Ababa and Asmara respectively.
	From July 2000 to July 2008, we funded the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) through our assessed contributions. Our embassies in Addis Ababa and Asmara along with other members of the FCO are involved in efforts to resolve the dispute. However, as this is one of many issues with which they have to deal with, it is difficult to offer a precise figure for resources used for this purpose.

Greece: Macedonia

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what diplomatic steps his Department has taken to encourage agreement between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in their negotiations on the name of FYROM.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 15 January 2009
	UN Special Representative, Matthew Nimetz, mediates negotiations between Greece and Macedonia seeking to resolve their bilateral dispute over the 'name issue'. The UK supports this process and we regularly encourage both Greece and Macedonia to work seriously and flexibly to find a solution. Since the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit last year, Ministers and officials have discussed the matter with both our Greek and Macedonian counterparts. Our ambassadors in Athens and Skopje also regularly raise the issue at the most senior levels.

Greece: Macedonia

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the prospects for agreement between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on the name of FYROM being reached in the near future; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 15 January 2009
	Negotiations between Greece and Macedonia on the 'name issue' are ongoing under the auspices of UN Special Representative, Matthew Nimetz. The UK is not party to the detail of these negotiations or the position taken by the two parties in the negotiations and therefore any assessment of the prospects for agreement would necessarily be speculative. However, we continue to encourage both Macedonia and Greece to engage flexibly in the negotiations and hope that they will be able to find an early solution.

Holidays Abroad: Health Services

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department provides for the families of those whose relatives  (a) are taken ill and  (b) die whilst on holiday abroad.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 19 January 2009
	Consular staff in London and around the world can offer advice and support to the families of those whose relatives are either taken ill or die while they are overseas. In the case of illness or injury, with the individuals' permission, we can inform family and friends and keep them up to date with developments. We can also help transfer money from friends or relatives in the UK to meet any necessary costs.
	In the event of a death overseas, we ask the UK police to contact the next of kin as soon as possible. Consular staff do their best to ensure that the family's wishes are carried out, for example regarding burial, cremation or bringing the body home. We can put the family in touch with local lawyers and local and international funeral directors. As with hospitalisation, we cannot pay expenses, but we can help transfer money from friends or relatives in the UK.
	If the death occurred under suspicious circumstances, we can assist the family in dealing with the local police—and staff are available to meet family representatives in London. When there is an ongoing investigation overseas, we can ask a local UK police force to consider providing a family liaison officer, who advises and helps the family in dealing with the investigation.

Nigeria: Corruption

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Nigerian Government about tackling corruption in that country.

Gillian Merron: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and my noble Friend the Minister of State for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch-Brown, both discussed corruption with the Nigerian Foreign Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, when he visited London on 10 December 2008. Our high commissioner and senior officials also continue to raise corruption issues with the Nigerian Government on a regular basis. The Government welcome President Yar'Adua's public commitment to the rule of law, reform and tackling corruption. We continue to work with the Nigerian Government to build an effective institutional framework to tackle corruption. This includes cross-Whitehall co-operation with the Nigerian authorities to bring individual cases to prosecution.

Somalia: Armed Conflict

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on Islamist forces allegedly taking control of bases in Mogadishu vacated by departing Ethiopian troops.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 20 January 2009
	The security situation in south central Somalia remains extremely challenging following the withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops. It is difficult to verify the divergent reports emerging from Mogadishu. However, on 16 January, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) released a press statement saying that, contrary to some press reporting, areas vacated by the Ethiopian troops have now been occupied by Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) forces, who are working together under the Djibouti peace process. Ethiopia's withdrawal presents a security challenge, but it also offers an opportunity for progress towards a Somali-led, long-term political solution to the conflict.

Uganda: Armed Conflict

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of  (a) the activities of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and  (b) the prospects that the LRA leader Joseph Kony will rejoin peace talks.

Gillian Merron: We strongly condemn the indiscriminate attacks by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) on Congolese and South Sudanese civilians which have occurred over the last month. Reports of these attacks vary widely, but the UN have estimated the attacks have resulted in around 500 casualties and 400 abductions.
	The Government of Uganda remains committed to the Juba Peace Process. They have publicly stated that the aim of the current military operation against the LRA is to put further pressure on Joseph Kony to sign the Final Peace Agreement, already negotiated and agreed on in Juba, including by the LRA. David Matsanga, the LRA spokesperson, has called for an immediate ceasefire, to enable the LRA to return to the negotiating table under new conditions.

WALES

Revenue and Customs

Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, column 260W, on Revenue and Customs: Wales, what arrangements other business units relocating from Bangor have in place to ensure continuation of the provision across north Wales of the Welsh language service.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) provides a comprehensive Welsh language service across all business areas in line with the Welsh Language Act 1993. The majority of HMRC's Welsh language services are provided from its offices in Porthmadog and Cardiff. These offices continue to be able to recruit Welsh speaking staff. They are being retained and the services they provide to Welsh speaking customers who telephone, visit or write, will be unaffected by the regional review decisions for Wales.
	Those business units currently located in Bangor which offer services to external customers (principally Debt Management and Banking, Local Compliance and Benefits and Credits Delivery) are committed to the continued provision of a Welsh language service in accordance with HMRC's Welsh Language Scheme. Details of the scheme are published on the HMRC internet site at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cymraeg/welsh-language-scheme-english.pdf
	As my hon. Friend confirmed in her earlier answer of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, column 263W, face to face inquiry services in Bangor will continue to be provided for Welsh language speakers either from the same building or from another building nearby.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Crime Prevention

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the performance of the Lock Out Crime Scheme against its objectives.

Paul Goggins: Over a three year period, the lock out crime scheme has contributed to a 24.5 per cent. reduction in domestic burglary against a target of 2.1 per cent. and has improved security in approximately 17,000 homes across Northern Ireland against a target of 7,000 to 10,000 homes.
	Feedback from the beneficiaries of the scheme has indicated that a majority enjoy an increased level of personal security as a direct result of this initiative.

Departmental Surveys

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department's central media and communication unit spent on public surveys in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The total expenditure by the Northern Ireland Office's central media and communication unit on public surveys in each of the last three years is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  NIO Total expenditure on public surveys  (£) 
			 2006-07 21,385 
			 2007-08 65,565 
			 2008-09 (to date as at January 2009) 21,385

Police Service of Northern Ireland: Finance

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the effect on the Northern Ireland policing budget if devolution of policing and justice takes place during the current Comprehensive Spending Review period.

Paul Goggins: The total allocation for PSNI is in excess of £1.1 billion for each of the three years of the comprehensive spending review (CSR). In providing for the CSR settlement, the Government took account of expectations in relation to the devolution of policing and justice.

Police Service of Northern Ireland: Finance

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what level of resource expenditure on the part of the Police Service of Northern Ireland he estimates there will be in the current three year comprehensive spending period.

Paul Goggins: The Police Service of Northern Ireland was allocated the following resource budget in the current three year comprehensive spending period:
	
		
			   Police Service of Northern Ireland (£  million) 
			 2008-09 1,199 
			 2009-10 1,184 
			 2010-11 1,159

Prisons: Cannabis

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to ensure the amount of cannabis used in Northern Ireland's prisons is reduced.

Paul Goggins: On 21 July 2008 I published a comprehensive report on measures to tackle the flow of drugs into prison establishments.
	Since then, significant steps have been taken to ensure that the volume of drugs including cannabis entering prisons is reduced. These include:
	Stringent new measures to manage inmates' personal cash accounts including restrictions on the passing of money into or out of the prison;
	Further training and deployment of specialist search staff, including use of specialist staff at visits entrances;
	Specialist training for new support grade staff;
	Enhanced observation of prisoners visits;
	Improved sharing of intelligence and closer co-operation with PSNI in identifying potential traffickers;
	Improved arrangements for the arrest and prosecution of individuals suspected or identified smuggling drugs into prisons.

Re-offenders

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 203W, on re-offenders, what the release dates are for the 13 people still in custody.

Paul Goggins: Only three of the persons referred to in the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 203W, currently have release dates—April 2009, February 2012 and May 2012 respectively.
	If the hon. Gentleman would like further information he may care to write to me.

Young Offenders: Convictions

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many juveniles were convicted of a criminal offence in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months for which figures are available, broken down by category of offence.

Paul Goggins: The following table gives the number of juveniles (aged 10 to 17 years) convicted of an offence broken down by offence classification.
	Data are for the calendar year 2006 (the latest year available) and are collated on the principal offence rule; so only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
	
		
			  Number of juveniles (aged 10 to 17 years) convicted by offence classification 2006 
			  Offence classification  Number 
			 Violence against the person 152 
			 Sexual offences 8 
			 Burglary 81 
			 Robbery 11 
			 Theft 202 
			 Fraud and forgery 7 
			 Criminal damage 240 
			 Offences against the state 40 
			 Drug offences 42 
			 Other offences 2 
			 Total indictable offences 785 
			   
			 Summary offences 258 
			 Motoring offences 230 
			 Total offences 1,273

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Electric Cables

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what steps are taken to test and improve the fire resistance to EU standards of electrical cable that is  (a) manufactured in the UK,  (b) imported from another EU member state and  (c) imported from outside the EU (i) at point of import or manufacture and (ii) at other times before installation of the cable;
	(2)  what steps are being taken to ensure that fire-resistant electric cable imported for use by the UK construction industry meets EU standards.

Iain Wright: I have been asked to reply.
	Fire resistance for electric cables is covered by European standards developed under the Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC). The 1991 UK Construction Products Regulations (SI 1620) implement this directive in the UK, and require that all products used in construction works must satisfy essential requirements (including safety in fire) for their use, where that use is regulated. In turn, the England and Wales Building Regulations (regulation 7) require that products must be fit for purpose in use. The guidance to this functional requirement states that testing and certification to a harmonised EU standard is one way of demonstrating compliance. In addition, the guidance to part B of the Building Regulations (Fire Safety) states that cables showing the appropriate classification against harmonised EU standard (BS EN 50200:2006) can be deemed compliant with the relevant requirements of part B. Scotland and Northern Ireland have similar provisions. These conditions apply equally to products manufactured in the UK or imported from either the EU or elsewhere. These requirements govern the fire resistance of cables in use: there is no mandatory requirement for testing or certification at point of manufacture or marketing.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: International Assistance

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made to date towards meeting the G8 Gleneagles pledge to  (a) increase official development assistance (ODA) by $50 billion,  (b) increase ODA to Africa by $25 billion and  (c) cancel 100 per cent. of heavily indebted poor countries' debt by 2010; what steps are being taken to ensure that the G8 meets these targets by 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: According to the latest available data from the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), ODA from DAC members increased from $79 billion in 2004 to $104 billion in 2007, and ODA to Africa has increased from $30 billion in 2004 to $39 billion in 2007.
	The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative agreed at Gleneagles in 2005 has delivered an additional $42 billion of debt cancellation to 23 countries including 19 in Africa. Non-DAC donors are also contributing to meeting the targets. The ODA increases by the G8 and other donors towards the 2005 targets are monitored by the DAC, the European Commission and by civil society, and are discussed in intergovernmental bodies including the United Nations, the G8, the European Council, and DAC High Level meetings. The UK Government is continuing to work with others to ensure effective delivery of the commitments made in 2005.

Africa: International Assistance

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the UK's agreed contribution was towards the G8 Gleneagles pledge to  (a) increase official development assistance (ODA) by $50 billion and  (b) increase ODA to Africa by $25 billion by 2010 (i) as a percentage of each total and (ii) in monetary terms expressed in (A) US dollars and (B) pounds; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: At Gleneagles, the UK announced a timetable to provide 0.7 per cent. of gross national income (GNI) as official development assistance (ODA) by 2013. The European Union agreed to provide 0.56 per cent. of its GNI as ODA in 2010, with at least half of the increase allocated to sub-Saharan Africa. On the basis of these commitments, and those of other donors, the OECD estimated that total annual ODA would increase by around $50 billion between 2004 and 2010, and annual ODA to Africa would increase by $25 billion.
	In the comprehensive spending review settlement announced in October 2007, the Government announced that DFID would spend £7.9 billion in 2010-11, and projected that total UK ODA would reach £9.1 billion (0.56 per cent. of projected GNI), compared to ODA of £4.3 billion in 2004. This projected increase of £4.8 billion is equivalent to US$7.3 billion at today's exchange rates, about 15 per cent of the $50 billion increase expected to result from the Gleneagles commitments. The Government has not announced a projection of total UK ODA to Africa, but has announced that DFID will increase its total multilateral and bilateral aid to Africa from £1.3 billion in 2004 to more than £3 billion in 2010—equivalent to $2.6 billion at today's exchange rates, and over 10 per cent. of the $25 billion increase for Africa announced at Gleneagles commitments.

Bangladesh: Overseas Aid

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has allocated to development projects in Bangladesh in each of the last five years.

Michael Foster: Details on DFID's bilateral expenditure and imputed share of multilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) are contained in the DFID publication 'Statistics on International Development'. This publication is available from in the Library and online at:
	www.dfid.gov.uk.
	Relevant figures are produced in the following table.
	
		
			  DFID expenditure in Bangladesh, 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			  £000 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Total DFID bilateral programme 55,383 127,904 123,368 109,313 129,392 
			 DFID imputed multilateral shares 26,967 19,951 37,860 42,029 — 
			  Note: Imputed multilateral figures for 2007-08 are not yet available.

Burundi: Overseas Aid

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid his Department is providing to build capacity in Burundi, with particular reference to assistance to the parliamentary authorities in that country.

Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) is working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and development partners in Burundi to help build state capacity in the health, education and justice sectors. For example, within the education programme which will provide £6 million over three years, we are strengthening the ministry's capacity for policy making and management of the education system. Technical assistance to the Ministry of Finance and our health and education sector programmes all include components to strengthen the government's public financial management and procurement capacity.
	With regard to parliamentary strengthening, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes is planning to visit Burundi in February 2009 to provide support to a cross-party group of MPs through an FCO-sponsored workshop, which will also strengthen ties between our two parliaments. DFID is complementing capacity-building support to the Burundian parliament, provided by other donors, through our £6 million over six years Joint Governance Programme with the Swedish International Development Agency. This aims to reinforce other institutions important for transparency and accountability—the media, civil society, oversight institutions—by building their capacity to scrutinise government action. This should help create a more conducive environment for parliament to play its role.

Departmental Air Travel

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many journeys  (a) he and his predecessors and  (b) his officials made by aeroplane in the course of their duties in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: Travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the "Ministerial Code" and the "Civil Service Management Code" respectively.
	The information requested could not be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.

Departmental Buildings

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been spent on  (a) maintaining,  (b) decorating and  (c) otherwise improving departmental buildings in the last five years; how much has been spent on wallpaper since 2001; and what plans there are for further spending on departmental decoration.

Michael Foster: The total amounts spent on maintaining the Department for International Development's (DFID) two UK headquarters in the last five years are as set out in the following table.
	These sums include all costs associated with planned preventative maintenance, and items such as spare parts, health and safety equipment, subcontracted maintenance contracts and costs associated with the internal reorganisation of the buildings.
	
		
			   Total (£) 
			 2004-05 992,252 
			 2005-06 1,031,561 
			 2006-07 1,013,528 
			 2007-08 920,701 
			 2008-09 994,774 
		
	
	In addition to the above, we spent £4,980,789 in 2004-05 and £1,285,379 in 2005-06 on a major refurbishment project of our East Kilbride headquarters, which included major construction and refitting costs.
	There are currently no specific plans for further redecoration other than general maintenance.

Departmental Catering

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which  (a) food and  (b) drinks suppliers have been used by his Department in each of the last three years; and how much his Department paid to each such supplier in each of those years.

Michael Foster: DFID operates a staff restaurant in each of its two UK offices. In the three last three financial years 2005-06 to 2007-08 these were operated under contract by Yes Dining Ltd. until December 2008 when the contracts were re-tendered and awarded to Charlton House Catering Services Ltd.
	The amount paid in each year was as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 384,403 
			 2006-07 376,487 
			 2007-08 350,300 
		
	
	These amounts include the subsidy paid for the operation of the restaurants, including staff and other running costs, and costs of refreshments at official meetings and events. It is not possible to separately identify costs of food and drinks, or of the individual suppliers used by the catering contractors.

Departmental Official Cars

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many hybrid vehicles his Department  (a) owns and  (b) owned in 2007-08.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development owns no hybrid vehicles.

Developing Countries: Foreign Investment

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the global economic situation on the level of foreign direct investment from the United Kingdom to developing countries in 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The main source for data on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows is the annual World Investment Report (WIR) published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development:
	http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/wir2008_en.pdf
	WIR 2008 predicted that the global financial crisis would result in FDI flows for the whole of 2008 falling 10 per cent. from the 2007 level, although the report also suggests that FDI flows to developing countries are less likely to be affected.
	According to the Office of National Statistics FDI surveys, UK companies have invested £96 million in Africa and £7.3 billion in Asia in 2007.
	DFID maintains a substantial investment climate reform programme to help improve the environment for both foreign and domestic investment flows. This includes a three-year £17 million commitment to the Investment Climate Facility for Africa.

Development Aid

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the likely effects of global economic conditions on the level of remittances from the United Kingdom to developing countries in 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 November 2008,  Official Report, column 119W.
	Recently the World Bank, in the publication 'Outlook for Remittance Flows 2008-2010' estimated UK remittances outflows at $5 billion for 2007. World Bank analysis of 'EU-15', that includes the UK, states that
	"outward remittances from the EU-15 countries are expected to decline by nearly eight per cent. in 2009, primarily due to a strengthening of the US dollar".
	The World Bank's central estimate is that remittance flows to developing countries will fall by 0.9 per cent. this year. However, this could go down further as the impact of the financial crisis deepens, with a worst case scenario according to the Bank of a fall of six per cent.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information he has on the impact of the Israeli military attack on the Palestinian territories in Gaza in December 2008 on British-supported aid projects in Gaza; what the cost of damage to such projects is; and what representations he has made to the Israeli government on the matter.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent to my statement of 19 January 2009,  Official Report , column 20WS.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department has given to the UN Development Programme Trust Fund to support the role of the Quartet Middle East Envoy since June 2007; what such funding is planned for 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: In 2007-08, the Department for International Development provided £400,000 to the UN Development Programme Trust Fund to support the office of the Quartet Representative in Jerusalem. We will continue to keep funding requirements for the post under review and will consider support, as necessary.

Mozambique: Police

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has made representations to the government of Mozambique in support of police reform in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The UK Government are concerned about human rights violations and lack of police accountability of the kind described in the Amnesty International report on Mozambique—'Licence to Kill'. In July 2008 the Secretary of State wrote to the government of Mozambique, highlighting some of the key measures required in order to make demonstrable progress in tackling corruption—including in the policing and justice sectors—and to strengthen the legislative framework to eliminate any idea of impunity under the law in Mozambique. The British high commissioner has also raised the issue of police accountability and reform with relevant Ministries on a number of occasions in 2008.
	In the process of drawing up its Country Assistance Plan in 2007, the Department for International Development (DFID) decided not to enter the justice sector in Mozambique as a number of major donors—including the World Bank, UNDP, the European Commission, USAID, the Netherlands and Denmark—were already actively engaged. However, well established donor co-ordination mechanisms in Mozambique allow for regular technical dialogue between donors and with government, throughout the year, on the justice and other sectors. UK concerns about policing issues are also specifically raised with the Mozambique government through the EU and high commission.

Overseas Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department plans to take to improve the UK's position in the Centre for Global Development's Commitment to Development Index.

Michael Foster: The 2006 White Paper "Making Governance Work for the Poor" set out the Government's commitment to promoting coherent support for development across a wide range of international policies. One of DFID's Departmental Strategic Objectives for the three year period 2008-11 is to:
	"develop a global partnership for development (beyond aid)".
	Progress in this area is reviewed annually in DFID's Annual Report which is available on the DFID website:
	www.dfid.gov.uk

Sri Lanka: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment has been made of the humanitarian situation in the Vanni area of Sri Lanka following  (a) the government of Sri Lanka's order to UN agencies and humanitarian non-governmental organisations to withdraw their staff and operations from the region on 5 September 2008 and  (b) the flooding from Cyclone Nisha in November 2008.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development's (DFID) latest field assessment visit in September reinforced our considerable concern about the 230,000 or more displaced people and vulnerable residents in the Vanni and the lack of humanitarian assistance. Without regular direct access the detail of conditions in the Vanni is difficult to monitor. However, we remain in close contact with humanitarian agencies and plan another humanitarian mission in mid-February.
	We have continually pressed for all parties to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law and for humanitarian convoys to be allowed to deliver assistance more predictably. A full UN-led needs assessment is essential, especially after Cyclone Nisha.
	DFID has allocated £2.5 million to the UN, the International Red Cross and the International Organisation for Migration to help support the immediate needs of displaced and vulnerable residents in the Vanni and elsewhere in Sri Lanka. The problem, however, will not be resolved by funding alone and we are resolute in pressing for better humanitarian access and safe humanitarian space. I and other Ministers have pressed the Sri Lankan Government to allow this.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Allotments

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many allotment allocations are vacant, in each constituency.

Iain Wright: We do not have centrally held figures for the number of allotment vacancies. Local authorities are responsible for keeping figures on vacancies and we do not require them to provide central Government with these figures. The number of vacancies changes regularly in line with local demand.

Allotments

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what sets of criteria local authorities use to determine allotment allocations.

Iain Wright: Under section 23 of the 1908 Allotment Act, when selecting tenants for allotments, local authorities are obliged to select only people resident within their area. There is no universal classification used by local authorities to allocate allotments. Most local authorities will allocate allotment plots according to the date of first application. Preference may be given by some local authorities to persons having special needs, such as old age pensioners, disabled persons or unemployed persons, but that is the decision of the local authority.

Council Tax: Eastbourne

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many summonses to court for council tax arrears were issued in Eastbourne constituency in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many bailiff visits there were for the collection of council tax arrears in Eastbourne constituency in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many householders have been declared bankrupt because of council tax arrears in Eastbourne constituency in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The administration of council tax is a matter for individual local authorities. The information requested is not collected or held by Communities and Local Government. Data on council tax enforcement is published by CIPFA.

Empty Property

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of empty habitable houses in  (a) northern England,  (b) the Midlands and  (c) the South East and South West; and how many such houses are (i) publicly owned, (ii) privately owned and (iii) owned by housing associations.

Iain Wright: Information on the total number of empty habitable dwellings and the number of privately owned empty habitable dwellings is not held centrally; however, an estimate of the number of empty habitable dwellings owned by local authorities and registered social landlords is held and these figures are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Region  Estimates of local authority habitable vacant dwellings (as at 1 April 2007)  Estimates of Registered Social Landlord habitable vacant dwellings (as at  31 March 2007) 
			  North 7,800 5,150 
			 North East 1,910 780 
			 North West 2,870 2,770 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 3,020 1,590 
			  Midlands 3,810 2,010 
			 East Midlands 1,950 560 
			 West Midlands 1,860 1,450 
			 South East 1,430 1,310 
			 South West 960 740 
			  Source:  Regulatory and Statistical Return submitted to the Homes and Communities  Agency by Registered Social Landlords, Business Planning Statistical Appendix and  Housing Strategy Statistical Appendi x submitted to Communities and l ocal  g overnment by local authorities

Housing: Rural Areas

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to increase  (a) the availability of and  (b) access to affordable housing in rural areas.

Iain Wright: The Homes and Communities Agency has been set a national target to provide 10,300 affordable homes in smaller rural communities from 2008-09 to 2010-11 for both social rent and low cost home ownership. Grant will be allocated to those schemes which meet the needs of local people, the regional strategy and demonstrate strong value for money from the £8 billion National Affordable Housing Programme. The target itself is a significant increase in comparison with previous delivery and represents a significant challenge, by its focus on completions not allocations. However, given current market conditions, it is too early to predict outputs with certainty over the period to 2010-11.
	In addition, provisions in the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 will enable all providers of shared ownership houses to restrict the equity share which shared owners may acquire in order to retain the benefit of the shared ownership homes for future purchasers in areas, such as small rural settlements, where replacement would be difficult.
	The Government are also committed to helping the development of a viable, well managed and financially robust Community Land Trust sector. Community Land Trusts have the potential to get the weight of the community behind the development of affordable housing and bring forward land for development, particularly in rural areas. We recently published a consultation on the development of a viable Community Land Trust sector and we have received 63 responses from a wide range of stakeholders which we are currently analysing. We will publish the results in the near future.
	Access to social rented housing is determined by the allocations legislation. This is designed to ensure the widest possible access whilst ensuring that priority goes to those people who are in the greatest housing need.
	Access to low cost home ownership schemes funded through the Affordable Housing Programme is open to first time buyers with an annual household income of £60,000 or less who are unable to buy a home in the market.
	The Prime Minister commissioned a report from the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Matthew Taylor) who has been looking at how land use and planning can better support rural business and deliver affordable housing in rural communities. His report, published in July 2008, provides a comprehensive review of the issues that our rural communities face, including access to affordable housing, and provides a number of practical recommendations. We are looking at the report in detail and will publish a full response shortly.

Infrastructure Planning Commission: Recruitment

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information the recruitment consultants for the post of Chairman of the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) provided to candidates for the post on the conditions governing early termination of the employment contract, including compensation payable, in the event of abolition of the IPC.

John Healey: The information pack provided to all candidates draws attention to the Government's intention to conduct a review of the Commission two years after it first becomes operational but does not set out the conditions that would govern any early termination of the employment contract or any compensation payable. These will be set out in the contract of employment in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Act 2008 (Schedule 1 paragraph 5). The terms will be agreed with the successful candidate before appointment.

Local Government: Billing

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities in England on the payments of invoices within 10 days; what assessment her Department has made of the extent to which local authorities are meeting this target; and what steps her Department has taken to facilitate local authorities in England paying suppliers within 10 days of receipt of invoice.

John Healey: In the pre-Budget report, in order to help businesses manage their cash flow, the Government announced that they would aim to pay their suppliers as soon as possible and within 10 days. This commitment has been adopted by a number of local authorities.

Local Government: Suffolk

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects the Boundary Committee for England to report to her on options for the local government structure of Suffolk.

John Healey: The Boundary Committee has been requested to provide advice to the Secretary of State no later than 13 February 2009 on proposals for unitary local government in Suffolk.

Locla Government Finance: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations she has received on the local government finance settlement for the London borough of Bexley in 2009-10.

John Healey: One representation was received from the London borough of Bexley during the consultation period on the local government finance settlement for 2009-10 which ended on 7 January 2009. Issues raised in the representation included the level of the floor and efficiency savings.
	Views were also received from the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Mr. Evennett) after the consultation period ended.

Members: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Minister for Housing will reply to the letters of 5 November 2008 and 5 December 2008 from the hon. Member for the Forest of Dean, reference FD1764, on rent increases for tenants of housing association properties.

Iain Wright: I have replied to the letters from the hon. Member.

Non-domestic Rates: Small Businesses

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many businesses have been granted small business rate relief in each year since its introduction in April 2005, broken down by local authority area; what the value was of such relief in each authority area in each year; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: I have placed in the Library of the House a table showing (a) the number of businesses that were in receipt of small business rate relief in each local authority in England as at 31 December 2006, the only year for which this information is currently available and (b) the total relief granted in each local authority in England in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Planning Permission: Inland Waterways

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what planning guidance exists on residential mooring; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: No national planning guidance has been published on the provision of residential moorings. That is not to say, however, that development plans should not address the issue of residential moorings where local planning authorities feel it is appropriate to do so.

Social Rented Housing

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to buy stocks of land for social housing in the current economic situation.

Iain Wright: We recognise the difficulties the housing market as a whole is currently experiencing and that is why we are committed to taking action. In May, July, September and at pre-Budget report last year we announced measures to tackle the downturn in the housing market. We are responding to the short-term market conditions by introducing measures to provide extra help for first time buyers, homeowners facing difficulties, and keeping housing supply, especially social housing supply, as high as possible. We are bringing forward from 2010-11 £550 million to provide around 7,500 social rented homes 18 months earlier than they would otherwise have been delivered.
	The new Homes and Communities Agency, which was established on 1 December 2008, is the Government's key delivery partner in relation to housing and regeneration. It has the ability to acquire land in support of its statutory objects and some of that land will be used for affordable housing. In addition, the HCA is responsible for the management of the programme for the delivery of more and better homes on surplus public sector land, with a target of 200,000 homes by 2016, of which the aspiration is that up to 50 per cent. of homes delivered will be affordable homes. In the current market, we are, however, keeping all options under constant review and the HCA is actively engaged in discussions with the industry.

Social Rented Housing

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2009,  Official Report, column 619W, on council housing: construction, which local authorities have made  (a) bids and  (b) successful bids for social housing grants to the Homes and Communities Agency.

Iain Wright: The first bids from local authorities for social housing grant from the Homes and Communities Agency will be submitted after we make the necessary changes to the revenue and capital rules described in the previous answer. We issued a consultation on these changes on 21 January. However, seven arm's length management organisations and other local authority wholly-owned special purpose vehicles have bid for grant, of which six have been successful and the other is awaiting assessment. Social homes owned by local authority vehicles of this nature are not subject to the revenue and capital rules which currently apply to council houses owned by the local authority itself.

Unitary Councils

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the reasons were for her decision to issue additional guidance to the Boundary Committee on 8 December 2008 to the effect that they should assess the affordability of and support for new unitary local authorities in  (a) Devon,  (b) Norfolk and  (c) Suffolk in aggregate rather than by individual proposed authority.

John Healey: We decided it would be helpful to the Boundary Committee to provide the additional guidance on the approach we are seeking for assessing unitary proposals involving two or more unitary councils, as from the financial information published by the Committee on 21 November, it was not clear that such assessments would be on the basis set out in the original request to the Committee of considering such a proposal in aggregate across all the unitary councils involved.

Unitary Councils

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to support the creation of new unitary local authorities in  (a) Devon,  (b) Norfolk and  (c) Suffolk.

John Healey: My right hon. Friend will take her decisions under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 on whether or not to implement any unitary proposals she has received from the councils or the Boundary Committee after the end of a period of six weeks, as required by that Act, following the date on which the Boundary Committee has been requested to provide advice to the Secretary of State.

Unitary Councils

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the  (a) affordability and  (b) level of support for new unitary local authorities in (i) Devon, (ii) Norfolk and (iii) Suffolk.

John Healey: Such an assessment was made of those proposals for new unitary authorities submitted by Exeter city council, Ipswich borough council and Norwich city council which we made against the five criteria, including affordability and a broad cross section of support, set out in the October 2006 'Invitation to councils in England to make proposals for future unitary structures', and which we made prior to asking the Boundary Committee for advice on proposals for unitary local government in the three county areas of Devon, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Unitary Councils

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether it is her Department's objective in creating new unitary local authorities that all authorities so created are financially viable.

John Healey: Our "Invitation to councils in England to make proposals for future unitary structures", published in October 2006, set out five criteria, including criteria on affordability and value for money local services, against which proposals for unitary local government would be assessed.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what regiments are based in Afghanistan; and where they are situated.

John Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement given by my predecessor on 8 July 2008,  Official Report, column 71WS.
	With regard to the location of troops, I have nothing to add to the answer I gave on 18 November 2008,  Official Report, column 414W, to the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram).

Antarctic: Navy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Royal Navy currently stations any vessels in the British Antarctic Territory.

Bob Ainsworth: The Royal Navy does not station any vessels in the British Antarctic Territory. Construction of the necessary infrastructure required to support a permanent naval presence would not be permitted under the Antarctic Treaty.
	However, the British Antarctic Survey provides a permanent scientific presence in the British Antarctic Territory and Her Majesty's Government are aware of the strategic importance of also maintaining a sovereign presence in Antarctica through Royal Navy patrols of the waters of the Territory in the austral summer.

Armed Forces: Housing

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the level of uptake was for each scheme to encourage home ownership among service personnel and veterans in each of the last three years.

Kevan Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor gave on 2 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 674-75W, to the hon. Member for Westbury (Dr. Murrison).
	The figures for financial year 2008-09 will be available in May 2009.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of armed forces personnel were fit for task in each year since 2001.

Kevan Jones: The MOD collates, on a quarterly basis, management information on the number of Service personnel 'fit for task', which provides a measure of the medical fitness of all trained armed forces personnel. These figures are broken down into three categories: Medically Fully Fit, Medically Not Fully Fit and Medically Unfit. It should be noted that the majority of those personnel who fall under the category of Medically Not Fully Fit remain fit enough to work in some capacity and therefore continue to make a contribution to operational effectiveness, often within theatres of operation.
	Prior to 1 April 2006 information was collected by the single services for internal management purposes, but was not required to be reported centrally in a standardised format. It would therefore incur disproportionate cost to retrieve this information and collate it into comparable figures.
	Medically fit for task figures from the first quarter of 2006-07 through to the second quarter of 2007-08 can be found in the following table. Personnel numbers are rounded to the nearest 10, and percentages rounded to one decimal point. For information on the period covering the third quarter of 2007-08 through to the second quarter of 2008-09 I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 20 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 1262-64W.
	
		
			Naval Service  Army  RAF 
			Numbers  Percentage of Trained Strength  Numbers  Percentage of Trained Strength  Numbers  Percentage of Trained Strength 
			  2006 - 07
			 Quarter 1 Fully Fit for Task 33,450 94.5 80,920 83.7 42,440 90.2 
			  Not Fully Fit for Task 1,790 5.1 15,250 15.8 4,390 9.3 
			  Unfit for Task 160 0.5 480  220 0.5 
			 
			 Quarter 2 Fully Fit for Task 33,540 94.8 80,190 83.4 42,440 90.2 
			  Not Fully Fit for Task 1,720 4.9 15,470 16.1 4,390 9.3 
			  Unfit for Task 130 0.4 540 0.6 220 0.5 
			 
			 Quarter 3(1) Fully Fit for Task — — 79,810 83.2 39,230 89.4 
			  Not Fully Fit for Task — — 15,530 16.1 4,460 10.2 
			  Unfit for Task — — 560 0.6 200 0.5 
			 
			 Quarter 4 Fully Fit for Task 31,330 90.4 79,040 82.7 38,730 89.7 
			  Not Fully Fit for Task 3,170 9.2 16,080 16.8 4,450 10.3 
			  Unfit for Task 120 0.4 480 0.5 190 0.4 
			 
			  2007 - 08
			 Quarter 1(2) Fully Fit for Task 31,330 90.5 — — 38,730 89.3 
			  Not Fully Fit for Task 3,170 9.2 — — 4,450 10.3 
			  Unfit for Task 120 0.4 — — 190 0.4 
			 
			 Quarter 2(2) Fully Fit for Task 31,279 90.1 — — 37,250 89.1 
			  Not Fully Fit for Task 3,315 9.6 — — 4,360 10.4 
			  Unfit for Task 120 0.4 — — 190 0.5 
			 (1)( )Figures for the Naval Service not available due to change over from legacy systems to the Joint Personnel Administration system. (2)( )Since 2007 the Army have collated figures for their deployable elements only not their total trained strength. 
		
	
	Since 1 April 2007 the Army has collated quarterly figures for its deployable elements only, rather than for its total trained strength. For this reason the figures are not comparable to those provided by the Navy and RAF in the same period. The Army's deployability returns provide a snapshot, on a specific day, of the deployability of Army personnel broken down into the following categories: fully deployable; limited deployability (LD); personnel unable to deploy (PUD). Many of those personnel classed as LD can and will deploy to operational theatres, likewise PUDs will be able to undertake non-deployed duties.
	The following table provides the figures for calendar years 2007-08, personnel numbers are rounded to the nearest 10, and percentages rounded to one decimal point. It should be noted that since September 2008 the deployability return has extended the categories it collects against with the intention of providing greater granularity to limited deployability and PUD data. As result the September and December returns report against different metrics which may account for the increase in numbers.
	
		
			Fully Deployable  LD for Medical Reason  PUD for Medical Reasons 
			  2007 
			 1 March Numbers 54,960 7,390 3,630 
			  Percentage of Deployable Strength 78.4 10.5 5.2 
			  
			 1 June Numbers 55,030 7,340 3,700 
			  Percentage of Deployable Strength 78.5 10.5 5.3 
			  
			 1 September Numbers 53,860 6,980 3,640 
			  Percentage of Deployable Strength 78.7 10.2 5.4 
			  
			 1 December Numbers 53,390 6,550 3,650 
			  Percentage of Deployable Strength 79.2 9.7 5.4 
			  
			  2008 
			 1 March Numbers 56,050 7,020 3,810 
			  Percentage of Deployable Strength 79.8 10.0 5.4 
			  
			 1 June Numbers 55,980 6,910 3,610 
			  Percentage of Deployable Strength 80.3 9.9 5.2 
			  
			 1 September Numbers 56,570 8,690 3,790 
			  Percentage of Deployable Strength 77.7 11.9 5.2 
			  
			 1 December Numbers 57,700 7,910 3,910 
			  Percentage of Deployable Strength 78.8 10.8 5.3

Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Repairs and Maintenance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on armoured vehicle maintenance in each year since 2001.

Quentin Davies: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Army: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of each Army corps did not meet  (a) harmony guidelines for tour intervals and  (b) separated service guidelines in each year since 2001.

Bob Ainsworth: Historical data to support the percentage calculation of breaches in harmony guidelines for tour intervals and separated service guidelines for each Army corps in each year since 2001 are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The percentage of each Army corps (for which we record tour interval information), failing to meet harmony guidelines for tour intervals, as at December 2008, is:
	
		
			  Corps  Percentage breaching harmony guidelines 
			 Royal Artillery 55 
			 Royal Armoured Corps (1)33 
			 Infantry (2)53 
			 (1)Excludes 2 Royal Tank Regiment as it has not deployed as a formed unit since 2003. (2)Excludes 1 and 2 Lancs due to their amalgamation (1 Korbr, 1 Kings and QLR) in 2006. 
		
	
	The unit tour interval is a less relevant measure when applied to other corps (such as Royal Engineers and the Royal Corps of Signals). This is due to the frequency with which personnel move between formed units within these corps (the personnel deployed with a unit will be substantially different from the personnel deployed with the same unit on a previous occasion). Unit tour interval data for these Corps are not, therefore, routinely collated.
	The latest available data (as at December 2006) recorded separated service guideline breaches at an average of 10.3 per cent. across the Army. It is hoped that separated service data will, in future, be provided by the Joint Personnel Administration System.

Astute Class Submarines: Procurement

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the orders for boats five, six and seven of the Astute class are expected to be placed.

Quentin Davies: Three Astute class submarines are on order with BAES (Submarine Solutions), and a further order was placed on 21 May 2007 to commence the build of the fourth boat. Long lead orders have been placed for items in respect of boats five and six. The intent is to place the first long lead order for boat seven before 2010.
	As the hon. Member may be aware from the answer I gave on 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 71W, to the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Miss Kirkbride), there has been some delay to the Astute programme. We are re-baselining the programme and I will make an announcement in due course.

Astute-Class Submarines

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what timetable has been set for the completion of the construction programme for Astute-class submarines and the commencement of the programme to construct Trident II submarines in the same facility.

Quentin Davies: There has been a delay to the Astute programme. It is currently being re-baselined and an announcement will be made in due course. Lessons learnt from the programme are, however, being applied to the design and build phase of the Future Submarine programme as part of normal business between closely related programmes.
	The Future Submarine programme to procure a new class of submarine to replace the Vanguard-class is at an early stage and no decisions have yet been taken on where the submarines will be built.

AWE Burghfield: Nuclear Weapons

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the resilience to nuclear accidents of the proposed main process facility for assembling and dis-assembling nuclear warheads at AWE Burghfield.

Quentin Davies: The proposed main process facility for the assembly and disassembly of nuclear warheads at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Burghfield is designed in accordance with internationally recognised standards and codes of practice that are applicable to any facility containing explosives and nuclear hazards. These standards have been developed and refined from experience across the nuclear field following research conducted into a number of accident scenarios, to ensure a demonstrably acceptable risk to the public, the work force and the environment.
	Given the existence of robust recognised standards, further research is not currently required. Extensive analysis has, however, been conducted by experts at AWE to substantiate the building design and to meet the requirements of the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate and hazardous installations directorate.

Chad: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department's financial contribution will be in support of the EU military mission to Chad and Central African Republic under the 2004 Athena mechanism.

Bob Ainsworth: Under the Athena mechanism, the UK's share of the approved budget for the EU military operation in Chad and Central African Republic is expected to be £14.7 million on the planned conclusion of the mission in March. This funding comes from the UK Government Peacekeeping Budget which is jointly managed by MOD, DFID and FCO and funded directly from the Treasury reserve.

Chad: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British armed forces personnel have served as part of EUFOR TChad/CAR in each of the last 12 months.

Bob Ainsworth: Over each of the last 12 months, the UK has maintained a contribution of four military officers as part of EUFOR TChad/Central African Republic (CAR): two officers in the operational HQ at Mont Valerien in Paris and two officers in the force HQ in Chad. These staff officers are being provided under standing EU headquarters augmentation procedures.

Chad: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Russian  (a) military and  (b) civilian contracted helicopters are currently used by EUFOR Tchad/CAR; and on how many occasions British personnel have flown in each.

Bob Ainsworth: The Russian contingent provides four military and no civilian contracted helicopters for current use by EUFOR Tchad/Central African Republic (CAR). No British personnel have flown in these helicopters.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF  (a) C-17 Globemaster,  (b) C-130K Hercules,  (c) C-130J Hercules,  (d) Tristar,  (e) VC-10 and  (f) other aircraft of each type have flown to the (i) Democratic Republic of Congo, (ii) Rwanda and (ii) Burundi since 21 November 2008.

Bob Ainsworth: No RAF C-17 Globemaster, C-130K and C130-J Hercules, Tristar, VC-10 or other RAF aircraft have flown to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda or Burundi since 21 November 2008.

Departmental Consultants

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of each management consultancy study commissioned by his Department from  (a) McKinsey and Co,  (b) PA Consulting,  (c) KPMG and  (d) PricewaterhouseCoopers since 2005.

Kevan Jones: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Data Protection

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 94-6W, on departmental data protection, how many  (a) desktop computers,  (b) laptop computers,  (c) hard drives and  (d) memory sticks have gone missing from (i) his Department and (ii) each of its agencies in each year since 2003.

Bob Ainsworth: The following tables show the number of officially issued assets centrally reported as missing (lost and stolen) from the MOD and its agencies since 2003. The figures in the following tables reflect the latest data held centrally as at 20 January 2009.
	
		
			  Figures for missing desktop computers, laptop computers, hard drives and USB  flash memory  devices for the MOD from 2003- 08 
			   MOD  organisations  Laptop  Desktop  HDD  USB 
			 2003 Air Command 6 — 2 — 
			  MOD Centre 12 5 — — 
			  Defence Estates — 4 — — 
			  Defence Equipment and Support 9 5 — — 
			  Defence Support Groups 1 — — — 
			  Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 3 — — — 
			  Navy Command 27 10 4 — 
			  Land Command 78 11 3 — 
			  MET Office — 7 — — 
			  PJHQ 14 — — — 
			  UK Hydrographic Office 1 — — — 
			  Other — — — — 
			  Total 151 42 9 0 
			   
			 2004 Air Command 14 1 2 — 
			  MOD Centre 7 16 11 3 
			  Defence Estates 50 1 — — 
			  Defence Equipment and Support 14 1 2 — 
			  Defence Support Group — — — — 
			  Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 1 — — — 
			  Navy Command 28 1 9 — 
			  Land Command 160 11 1 24 
			  MET Office — — — — 
			  PJHQ 17 1 — — 
			  UK Hydrographic Office — — — — 
			  Other — — — — 
			  Total 291 32 25 27 
		
	
	
		
			  Figures for missing desktop computers, laptop computers, hard drives and USB  flash memory  devices for the MOD from 2003- 08 
			   MOD  organisations  Laptop  Desktop  HDD  USB 
			 2005 Air Command 14 3 5 — 
			  MOD Centre 3 — — — 
			  Defence Estates 1 — — — 
			  Defence Equipment and Support 12 — — — 
			  Defence Support Group — — — — 
			  Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 5 — — — 
			  Navy Command 18 5 2  
			  Land 73 15 6 1 
			  Met Office 2 — — — 
			  PJHQ — — 1 1 
			  UK Hydrographic Office — — — — 
			  Other — — — — 
			  Total 128 23 14 2 
			   
			 2006 Air Command 11 2 1 3 
			  MOD Centre 14 — — 1 
			  Defence Estates 2 — — — 
			  Defence Equipment and Support 14 — 32 — 
			  Defence Support Group — 1 — — 
			  Defence Science and Technology Laboratory — — — — 
			  Navy Command 21 3 3 — 
			  Land Command 116 19 8 51 
			  MET Office 3 — — 1 
			  PJHQ — — 3 — 
			  UK Hydrographic Office — — — — 
			  Other — — — — 
			  Total 181 25 47 56 
		
	
	
		
			  Figures for missing desktop computers, laptop computers, hard drives and USB  f lash memory  devices for the MOD from 2003- 08 
			   MOD  organisations  Laptop  Desktop  HDD  USB 
			 2007 Air Command 8 — — 1 
			  MOD Centre 9 — — 4 
			  Defence Estates 5 1 — 1 
			  Defence Equipment and Support 10 — — — 
			  Defence Support Group 1 — — — 
			  Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 1 — — — 
			  Navy Command 7 4 2 — 
			  Land Command 77 9 6 2 
			  MET Office 1 — — — 
			  PJHQ 4 1 1 1 
			  UK Hydrographic Office — — — — 
			  Other 
			  Total 123 15 9 9 
			   
			 2008 Air Command 104 1 — 15 
			  MOD Centre 13 — 1 16 
			  Defence Estates 4 — — 3 
			  Defence Equipment and Support 16 — 20 1 
			  Defence Support Group 1 — — — 
			  Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 3 — — 1 
			  Navy Command 28 7 6 11 
			  Land Command 38 37 37 39 
			  MET Office 2 — — — 
			  PJHQ 5 — 16 10 
			  UK Hydrographic Office — — — — 
			  Other 3 2 — — 
			  Total 217 47 80 96 
			  Note: Memory sticks are defined by MOD as USB flash memory devices. DT—Desktop Computers LT—Laptop Computers HD—Hard drives USB—USB flash memory devices Other—the MOD agency could not be identified

Departmental Finance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department's underspend of £1.75 billion in 2007-08 against its budget is to be carried forward to 2008-09; and what the reasons are for this underspend.

John Hutton: The Department's final audited outturn underspend for 2007-08 comprised principally depreciation charges and movements on provisions, requested in the spring supplementary estimate through request for resources 1 (RfRl—provision of defence capability), that did not materialise. This underspend was in indirect resource which, as non-cash, does not contribute to the Department's spending power. Moreover, it was agreed in comprehensive spending review 2007 that any RfR1 non-cash resource underspend would be set at zero at the start of 2008-09 and could not therefore be subject to end year flexibility (EYF), with any requirement for further non-cash provision to be considered with the Treasury when it arose.
	A small proportion of the 2007-08 underspend was attributable to RfR2 (peacekeeping and operations), for which the Department is not entitled to claim EYF.

Departmental Pay

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent by his Department on staff reward and recognition schemes in each of the last three years.

Kevan Jones: The Department has spent the following on reward and recognition schemes in the past three years.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Financial year 
			  Reward scheme  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Staff suggestion scheme awards n/a 41 172 
			 Minor Award Scheme awards 738 219 548 
			 Total 738 260 720 
			 n/a = Not available. 
		
	
	The figures exclude the MOD's trading fund agencies, which are outside the Department's accounting boundary.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 11 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1001W, on departmental public relations, which areas of work or projects the external public relations firm worked on; and for what reasons in-house communications staff were not used for such work.

John Hutton: Biss Lancaster have been used by the Army's Recruiting Group: to provide strategic advice in the development of its recruitment marketing communications plan to support specific recruitment projects; to generate through the media interest among the recruitment target audience; and to obtain positive coverage of careers in the Army.
	In-house communications staff provide essential knowledge of the Army's business. However, the use of Biss Lancaster provides the Army with particular expertise and experience in the specialised recruitment field, offering best value for money to the taxpayer for this type of work.

EC Defence Policy

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Government's policy is on the provisions of the so-called reciprocity clause contained in the recent EU Directive on the coordination of procedures for the award of certain public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts in the fields of defence and security; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: The directive will provide member states with common procurement rules for defence and security which take account of the special features of that market. This will enable them to open up the majority of their defence procurements (apart from certain sensitive contracts) to competition. The aim is a more effective, open and transparent European defence equipment market and the innovation that will bring.
	The Recital in question seeks to outline the importance of the creation of a globally competitive European Defence Industrial Base but importantly does not require member states to purchase defence equipment exclusively from within the European Community. We will continue therefore, as now, to look to the global market to meet our capability needs.

HMS Endurance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what his most recent assessment is of the extent of damage to HMS Endurance; and what his most recent estimate is of the cost of repair;
	(2)  what his Department's plans are for the future of HMS Endurance;
	(3)  how and when HMS Endurance will be returned to the UK.

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the extent of the damage to HMS Endurance as a result of the recent flooding incident; what method will be used to return the vessel to the United Kingdom; and whether repair or replacement will be the more economical long-term option.

Bob Ainsworth: HMS Endurance suffered extensive damage to her engine room and some accommodation areas during the flooding incident in December. Subject to further assessments, our intention is that the ship will return to the UK, by heavy lift repair ship or barge, for repair prior to her return to service, at a date to be agreed. I am withholding the projected repair costs as they are commercial-in-confidence.

HMS Endurance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the operational duties of HMS Endurance will be carried out when she is out of commission.

Bob Ainsworth: Her Majesty's Government are aware of the strategic value of sovereign presence in the South Atlantic and Antarctic regions. A number of options are under consideration but it is not yet clear how long the repairs to HMS Endurance will take. HMS Endurance normally undertakes her duties in the austral summer so this year's patrol has, through force of circumstance, been curtailed. Operational deployments are continually weighed against defence responsibilities around the world and therefore it would be inappropriate to provide detail at this point in the planning stage for HMS Endurance's repairs and return to duty.

Investment Approvals Board

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's current Investment Approvals Board forward programme.

Quentin Davies: I am withholding this information because the forward programme contains commercially sensitive information, and its release would be prejudicial to the effective conduct of public affairs.

Lynx Helicopters: Procurement

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 65-67WS, on defence equipment, what effect the reduction of the planned production order from 70 airframes to 62 airframes will have on the procurement cost of the Future Lynx programme; and when the decision to reduce the order was taken.

Quentin Davies: holding answer 19 January 2009
	The reduction of the planned production order will save some costs, however the extent and breakdown of these savings is commercially sensitive and if released could prejudice our commercial interests. The decision was taken as part of the examination of the equipment programme.

Lynx Helicopters: Procurement

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Statement of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 65-67WS, on defence equipment, on what date the decision was taken to reduce the number of airframes to be procured under the Future Lynx programme from 70 to 62.

Quentin Davies: holding answer 19 January 2009
	The decision to reduce the number of aircraft was taken as part of our recent examination of the equipment programme.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to reply to the letter of 9 December 2008 from the hon. Member for Billericay and others on the subject of nuclear test veterans.

Kevan Jones: I expect to reply shortly.

Military Aircraft

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many transport and tanker aircraft were available for deployment by the armed forces in each year since 2001.

Quentin Davies: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

RAND Corporation

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value of contracts given by his Department to the RAND Corporation was in each financial year since 1997-98.

Kevan Jones: The value of new contracts awarded by the Ministry of Defence to the RAND Corporation in each of the financial years since 1997-98 is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Current prices 
			   Number of new contracts  Value of new contracts (£) 
			 1998-99 2 30,000 
			 1999-2000 0 0 
			 2000-01 0 0 
			 2001-02 3 850,000 
			 2002-03 6 950,000 
			 2003-04 3 1,370,000 
			 2004-05 0 0 
			 2005-06 2 60,000 
			 2006-07 2 440,000 
			 2007-08 0 0 
			 Total 18 3,700,000 
		
	
	These figures include contracts awarded directly to the RAND Corporation, RAND Europe and RAND Europe Cambridge Limited. Contract values have been rounded to the nearest £10,000. The figures do not cover contracts which are awarded to suppliers on behalf of other Government Departments; by the MOD's Trading Funds and Non-Departmental Public Bodies (which lie outside the MOD's accounting boundary); locally by the Department under low-value procedures; or in relation to those collaborative projects where the payments are made through international procurement agencies or overseas governments.

Reserve Forces: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel there are in each service of the volunteer reserves; and what the equivalent figures were for 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: Data on the number of personnel in each service of the volunteer reserves as at 1 April 2008 and 1 April 1997 are available in Table 2.17 of UK Defence Statistics 2008 (UKDS), which can be found at:
	http://ww.dasa.mod.uk/UKDS2008/c2/table217.html
	Copies of UKDS are also available in the Library of the House.
	In addition, DASA produces an Army Personnel Statistics Report on a monthly basis, which includes the Territorial Army. The total number of personnel in the Territorial Army (TA) as at 1 November 2008 was 35,920(1, 2). There are no equivalent publications for the Naval Service or Royal Air Force, therefore the latest available data for these services are those published in UKDS.
	(1) Due to ongoing data validation issues within the Joint Personnel Administration system, TA figures are provisional and subject to review.
	(2) Denotes provisional.

USA: Foreign Relations

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next plans to meet his US counterpart in Washington DC.

John Hutton: I have regular meetings with Secretary Gates. I expect to see him at the NATO Ministerial meeting at the end of February and I also intend to visit Washington DC in the near future.

Warships: Procurement

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which vessels are currently on order for  (a) the Royal Navy and  (b) the Royal Fleet Auxiliary; and what the anticipated in-service date is of each.

Quentin Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 1053-54W, to the hon. Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) which provides details of Royal Navy vessels currently on order and the in-service dates.
	Vessels procured as part of the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) Programme will replace elements of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. As the hon. Member will be aware from the Equipment Examination announcement on 11 December 2008,  Official Report, column 65WS, we are currently reviewing the overall MARS requirement and procurement options, and any resultant implications for the current international competition for the Fleet Tanker element. We expect to determine a way forward later this year.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Maintenance

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission may take when it has good reason to believe that a parent with liability to pay child maintenance plans to leave the country.

Kitty Ussher: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner. The Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission may take when it has good reason to believe that a parent with liability to pay child maintenance plans to leave the country.
	The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission has no powers to impede or to take any action simply on the basis of a current liability to pay child maintenance should a non-resident parent plan to leave the country. If a non-resident parent does not owe arrears of child maintenance payments through the Child Support Agency, then the Commission, quite rightly, has no power to prevent parents from moving abroad.
	In cases where a non-resident parent has fallen into arrears, the Commission's current enforcement powers may in some cases make it more difficult for a non-resident parent to realise any assets and leave the country without settling outstanding child maintenance arrears. Whilst a non-resident parent both resides overseas and either has no assets in the UK or does not work for an employer based in the UK, there is no mechanism by which either the Commission or the parent with care may enforce the collection of Child Support Agency debt that accrued whilst the non-resident parent resided in the UK.
	New enforcement powers provided by the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008, which are yet to be commenced, will allow the Commission to apply to a court to seek an order disqualifying non-resident parents who have wilfully refused or culpably neglected to pay child maintenance from holding or obtaining a travel document (such as a passport).
	If a non-resident parent has left the Commission's jurisdiction, the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee is the authority in England and Wales responsible for the enforcement of maintenance orders overseas. The UK has reciprocal arrangements with more than 100 countries, which enable maintenance obligations to be established or recognised and enforced if the non-resident parent resides in one of those countries. The parent with care may apply to a magistrate's court for a maintenance order to be enforced overseas and procedures also exist to enable the parent with care to ask the foreign authorities to create an order for maintenance on their behalf. This route cannot be used to enforce Child Support Agency debt that was incurred prior to the non-resident parent's move abroad.
	Further information on the reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders can be found at:
	http://www.officialsolicitor.gov.uk/os/remo_role.htm.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the  (a) planned and  (b) actual cost of each IT project completed by his Department and its agencies since 1997 was; what costs have been incurred on IT projects not yet completed; what the estimated cost of each incompleted project is; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Although the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any discrete IT projects, it has a number of projects and programmes that include changes to, or new, IT to a greater or lesser extent.
	The Department for Work and Pensions was created in June 2001, prior to that arrangements were the responsibility of different Departments and Agencies. The provision of actual costs for all such projects completed by the Department and its Agencies since then would only be available at a disproportionate cost. We have provided such information as is readily available in the two following tables. The first includes:
	The projects and programmes currently on the Department's current portfolio where the IT element of the project or programme results in the development and/or implementation of services that underpin the delivery of departmental business.
	The planned and actual investment costs of the current portfolio and the estimated cost on completion.
	Table 2 details recently closed projects including planned and actual investment costs on completion. The costs of running the solutions implemented by the projects and programmes are not included in either table as in the vast majority of cases they are more than compensated for by the financial and non financial benefits they generate.
	Initiatives that are associated with ongoing system improvements or enhancements as part of business as usual are also excluded.
	
		
			  Table 1:  Current DWP IT portfolio 
			  £  million rounded 
			  Project  Purpose  Original planned costs  Actual costs as at November 2008  Estimated cost on completion 
			 Employment and Support Allowance The project delivers the systems, processes and training to support delivery of the new employment and support allowance. 295 241 295 
			  
			 Customer Information System This project will deliver a database of key citizen information to be shared across DWP. The database will complement information currently available in the Department's key customer information systems, i.e. personal details computer system and departmental central index, and become their replacement. Consideration is being given for wider use of CIS by other Government Departments. 40 86 88 
			  
			 Central Payments System A modern integrated central payment engine and accounts payable system to improve accounting for benefit/pension payments. The system will also reduce risks of service failure, increase speed and efficiency, and provide information to improve customer service and reduce fraud and error. 90 44 178 
			  
			 Pensions Transform- ation Programme The programme will transform the Pension Service, bringing together business and IT change in ways that improve customer service and deliver efficiencies. 429 555 598 
			  
			 Pension Reform Delivery Programme To co-ordinate, manage and deliver a range of measures and consequential impacts which will establish a new structure for the UK pension system long term. 151 21 118 
			  
			 Document Repository Service This project seeks to support the Department's modernisation programmes through the provision of a document repository to store digitised images of documents received from customers (letters, faxes, e-mails etc.), cutting down paper in the organisation. 6 7 10 
			  
			 Data Centre Strategy The project is addressing the ongoing continued threat of business service continuity with a replacement strategy for Washington Data Centre. 33 4 33 
			  
			 DWP Change Programme This programme brigades a number of complementary initiatives to deliver the DWP Business Vision. It includes projects to bring in continuous improvement using lean techniques which should allow greater customer focus and efficiency in our process and business improvement projects to allow greater access to information. 245 45 246 
			  
			 Provider Referrals and Payment Project Deploy an IT system to automate and e-enable payment transactions between Jobcentre Plus and training providers. 17 3 18 
			  
			 Local Services Integration programme To provide local services with an IT solution that supports the end to end process making administration more efficient. 19 1 15 
			  
			 Government Connect To roll out a secure data network connecting Government and local authorities, including secure file transfer, e-mail and web-browser capability. 8 6 33 
			  Note:  Government Connect—£33 million forecast spend are the total costs of this cross government programme—planned DWP funding (£8 million), Communities and Local Government (£19 million) and Department for Children and Families (£6 million). 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Recently closed projects 
			  £  million rounded 
			  Project  Purpose  Original planned costs  Actual costs of project 
			 Centralisation of Benefit processing To centralise, automate and standardise benefit processing 140 118 
			 
			 Provider-Led pathways to work Central to the welfare reform agenda this project will contract the private and voluntary sector to provide additional help and support for all but the most severely ill or disabled incapacity benefit customers gaining employment. Additional help will be provided through additional mandatory monthly work- focused interviews and tailored, job-focused support, including help to manage customer's health condition, especially in relation to work. 17 10 
			 
			 DWP IT Transformation Programme (inc TREDSS & ICONS) Establishing new commercial arrangements with EDS for the delivery of live systems and services. 169 155 
			 
			 Fraud Referrals and Interventions Management System Fraud Referrals and Intervention Management System aims to deliver modernised programme protection activity 12 30

Disability Living Allowance

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedures are in place to verify and monitor the accuracy of disability living allowance award entitlement decisions.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Pension, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS) has in place a number of procedures to verify and monitor the accuracy of disability living allowance (DLA) award entitlement decisions.
	PDCS has a dedicated national checking team that continuously monitors a randomly selected sample of DLA outcome decisions and appeal submissions. In addition to this, DLA Operations have their own Quality Improvement Support Team that performs random checks on a sample of all recent DLA outcome decisions from each operational unit. Local operational managers also have technical checking teams who target areas of known difficulty before decisions are issued.
	Each year, PDCS also performs 12,000 random case interventions under the Right Payment Programme, to ensure the accuracy and correctness of the DLA live load.
	To encourage consistency of approach and better quality decisions, PDCS has introduced Customer Case Management (CCM), which provides comprehensive medical guidance for decision makers on the effects of disability, and guidance on focused further evidence gathering including more direct contact between decision makers and customers. To complement the existing checking regime, work is underway to introduce post decision checks targeted at those decisions that do not appear to conform to the medical guidance.

Jobcentre Plus

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total budget forecast for Jobcentre Plus for the next calendar year was  (a) in August 2008 and  (b) following the Pre-Budget Report.

Tony McNulty: The Department's published three year plan is available in the Library and sets out the planned expenditure of Jobcentre Plus as part of the 2007 comprehensive spending review. The Department will publish a revised plan before the end of the current financial year providing further details on future Jobcentre Plus expenditure.

Jobcentre Plus

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the  (a) average,  (b) lowest and  (c) highest salary paid to a Jobcentre Plus personal adviser is in each region;
	(2)  what the minimum educational requirements necessary to become a Jobcentre Plus personal adviser are;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of Jobcentre Plus staff are paid at the minimum wage rate.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking what the  (a) average,  (b) lowest and  (c) highest salary paid to a Jobcentre Plus personal adviser is in each region; what the minimum educational requirements necessary to become a personal adviser are; and how many and what proportion of Jobcentre Plus staff are paid at the minimum wage rate. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The pay scales for personal advisers are those for Executive Officer Band C. Details of the pay scales are in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   National  Inner London  Outer London  Specified locations 
			 Minimum 19,650 23,240 21,910 21,620 
			 Maximum 23,990 27,850 26,680 26,210 
		
	
	Specified locations pay zones are those where recruitment difficulties historically have led to an increase in local salary scales. Generally these apply across much of the South East, outside the London pay zones.
	Our payroll system does not identify staff by job role and so it is not possible to provide an average salary for personal advisers.
	Jobcentre Plus, in line with DWP-wide policy, uses competency based recruitment for all recruitment, rather than education attainment or qualifications. A few exceptions exist for specialist posts, but for personal advisers there is no minimum educational requirement.
	No Jobcentre Plus staff are paid at the national minimum wage rate; all our pay rates are above the national minimum wage.

National Insurance: Fraud

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) national insurance (NI) numbers in use,  (b) unused NI numbers and  (c) fake or fraudulently obtained NI numbers in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The latest available figures (2007) show a total of 76.8 million national insurance number (NINO) records on the Department's Customer Information System (CIS). These consisted of:
	55.1 million Active accounts—i.e. those showing current or recent use of the NINO.
	16.8 million accounts relating to people who are now deceased.
	4.9 million Inactive accounts—i.e. those showing no recent activity (and which do not fall into the deceased person account category) such as people who have moved abroad.
	Estimates of the number of fake or fraudulently obtained NINOs are not available. DWP has robust checks in place to verify identity prior to the allocation of a NINO and to prevent NINOs being used fraudulently within the benefit system.
	Where the Department identifies that a NINO has been used for attempted benefit fraud or may be vulnerable to fraudulent use, the relevant NINO record is annotated accordingly. Any subsequent benefit claim using that NINO would automatically be subjected to close scrutiny and, if appropriate, referral to the Department's Fraud Investigation Service.
	The number of NINO accounts annotated for these reasons over the last five years is in the following table:
	
		
			   Number of marked accounts 
			 2003-04 2,341 
			 2004-05 1,087 
			 2005-06 2,521 
			 2006-07 2,965 
			 2007-08 3,234 
			  Notes: 1. Each year runs from 1 April to 31 March. 2. The table is derived from management information held by Jobcentre Plus National Identity Fraud Unit.

New Deal Schemes

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many participants in the New Deal for  (a) Young People,  (b) 25 Plus,  (c) 50 Plus,  (d) Disabled People,  (e) Lone Parents,  (f) Partners and  (g) Musicians entered into work for 13 weeks in each (i) quarter and (ii) year since the scheme's inception; what proportion of participants this figure represented in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Available information has been placed in the Library.

Pension Credit

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will undertake a review of the regulations governing the way in which the notional return for savings in excess of £6,000 are assessed for those aged over 60 and applying for pension credit.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 12 January 2009
	 I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope), on 13 January 2009,  Official Report, column 578W.

Pensioners: Payments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners had payment of their pension suspended as a result of their mail being returned by the post office to a Pensions Office in the last 12 months.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 21 January 2009
	The information requested is not available.

Pensioners: Payments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy that pension payments continue to be made in circumstances where mail sent to pensioners is returned to a pensions office at least until the reasons for the return of mail have been established.

Rosie Winterton: It is the current policy within the Department for Work and Pensions that if mail that has been sent to our customer is returned, as it appears they are no longer at that address, then inquiries are conducted before any decision to suspend payment is considered by the decision maker. These inquiries will include; telephoning last known number, a referral to local service and making inquiries of local social services to see if they know of the customer.

Post Office Card Account

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the Statement of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 965-82, on the Post Office Card Account, for what reason the addition of the ability to make direct debit payments through the Post Office Card Account would have made it more difficult to award the contract to the Post Office without completing the tender process.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 12 January 2009
	 We concluded that the contract for the Post Office card account should be awarded to the Post Office without completing the tender process. In reaching that conclusion, we took into account that the Post Office card account is a simple product—essentially a means of paying benefit—and that it provides an important social service to vulnerable people, particularly in rural and deprived urban areas. Direct debits, and other additional functionality, are already available through the basic bank accounts which can be accessed at Post Office branches. And we hope, over time, that the Post Office will be able to develop accounts with wider features, on a commercial basis.

Post Office Card Account

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent progress has been made on finalising the terms and conditions of the Post Office Card Account contract; in what respect the contract will differ from the existing contract; and when he expects negotiations to conclude.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 19 January 2009
	 Good progress is being made with both parties working together towards finalising the terms and conditions of the new Post Office card account contract. Negotiations will be concluded as soon as possible.
	We hope that, subject to contractual discussions with Post Office Ltd., the new product will offer some enhancements to the existing Post Office card account. These should include: a simpler opening process for customers; faster clearance of payments into an account; access via cash machines; and the ability to correct mistakes, for example if the customer withdraws more than they intended to and wants the money immediately put back into their account.

Poverty: Children

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many children in  (a) the Vale of York and  (b) England were considered to be in severe poverty in (i) 1999 and (ii) 2007;
	(2)  how many children were estimated to be in relative poverty in  (a) Vale of York constituency and  (b) England in each of the last three years.

Kitty Ussher: There is no official or agreed definition of severe poverty. Child poverty statistics, published in the Households Below Average Income series, only allow a breakdown of the overall number of children in relative poverty at Government office region level or for inner or outer London. This means information for the Vale of York is not available.
	Available information is shown in the following table. Statistics based on other thresholds are given in the Households Below Average Income publication, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
	
		
			  Numbers of children living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of median in 1999-2000, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07, before housing costs, England 
			   Number (Million) 
			 1999-2000 2.8 
			 2004-05 2.3 
			 2005-06 2.4 
			 2006-07 2.4 
			  Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income, sourced from the Family Resources Survey. 2. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 3. The reference period for Households Below Average Income figures are single financial years. 4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication "Households Below Average Income" series, which uses net disposable household income, adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 5. Incomes have been equivalised using OECD equivalisation factors. 6. Number of children have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 children.  Source: Households Below Average Income, 2006-07.

Poverty: Children

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children were living in poverty in Glasgow in  (a) January 2007,  (b) January 2008 and  (c) January 2009.

Kitty Ussher: The information requested is not available.
	Our child poverty statistics, published in the Households Below Average Income series, only allow a breakdown of the number of children in poverty at Government office region/national level.

Social Fund: Complaints

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) complaints and  (b) requests for a review of decision have been received by the Social Fund in each month since Jobcentre Plus assumed responsibility for handling the initial application process; and if he will make a statement.

Kitty Ussher: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves :
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many (a) complaints and (b) requests for a review of decision have been received by the Social Fund in each month since Jobcentre Plus assumed responsibility for handling the initial application process; and if he will make a statement. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus was introduced on 1st April, 2002 and it assumed immediate responsibility for the Social Fund application process. I have placed the available information in the Library.

Social Security Benefits

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what is the maximum period of time within which  (a) benefit claimants are able to make backdated claims for benefit entitlement and  (b) for which his Department may seek repayments of overpayments made in error.

Tony McNulty: Each benefit has a prescribed time within which a claim must be made in order to establish entitlement—in most cases, three months. With income support and jobseeker's allowance a claim can be backdated for up to three months in certain circumstances.
	There is no time limit to the period that the Department can seek to recover an overpayment, just as there is no time limit on the payment of arrears of benefit where the Department is responsible for an underpayment.

Social Security: Private Sector

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of public regulation of private sector contracted welfare services in each of the next five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: DWP providers are subject to external inspection by Ofsted in England and Estyn in Wales to provide assurance that publicly funded provision is delivering a quality experience to all our customers.
	During 2008-09 DWP will pay Ofsted £2,800,051 and Estyn £235,000 for external inspection and inspection related activity. The budget for 2009-10 and beyond has not yet been formally agreed.

Territorial Army

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many members of the Territorial Army have been made redundant from their civilian posts in each year since 2001.

Bob Ainsworth: I have been asked to reply.
	This information cannot be provided as there is no requirement for employers or reservists to report redundancies.

UN Convention on Disability Rights

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will undertake to ratify the UN Convention on Disability Rights by spring 2009.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Government's intention is to achieve ratification of this important convention at the earliest practicable opportunity, and our ambition is to do so in the spring of 2009.

Unemployed: Voluntary Organisations

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedures are in place in each Jobcentre Plus district to arrange for liaison with voluntary agencies for the provision of  (a) weekend food and  (b) other emergency support for Jobcentre Plus customers who are not in receipt of benefit or assistance from the Social Fund.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 9 December 2008
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what procedures are in place in each Jobcentre Plus district to arrange for liaison with voluntary agencies for the provision of (a) weekend food and (b) other emergency support for Jobcentre Plus customers who are not in receipt of benefit or assistance from the Social Fund. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	There are no such formal arrangements in place between Jobcentre Plus and voluntary agencies. Crisis Loans from the Social Fund exist to meet these needs.
	Jobcentre Plus does provide emergency support through our Social Fund and Out of Hours Service. This can be accessed at weekends through third parties such as the police and social services departments where they determine that a crisis loan may help to prevent serious risk to health and safety. Referrals are made to the Out of Hours Service by telephone and our officers may then visit a customer in their home to make a determination of need and make a payment.

Unemployment

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the likely rate of unemployment in each month of 2009.

Tony McNulty: The Government set out their assessment of prospects for the economy in the pre-Budget report. As has been the practice of previous Governments, we do not publish forecasts for unemployment.

Vacancies

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the projected numbers of full time equivalent posts in Jobcentre Plus are in each of the next five years; when the projections were last revised; and what the projections were before that revision.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from  Mel  Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what the projected numbers of full time equivalent posts in Jobcentre Plus are in each of the next five years; when the projections were last revised; and what the projections were before that revision. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Projections for numbers of full time equivalent posts in Jobcentre Plus are only available for the three years covered by the Department's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) 07. We do not have future information yet about the next CSR settlement. The table below shows the original numbers of full time equivalent posts in Jobcentre Plus projected in each of these years and how these numbers have been revised from November 2008 in light of the pre Budget Report statement. Numbers for March 2011 are under review and a firm figure is not yet available.
	
		
			  March each year  Original Projected Number  Revised Estimated Number (as at December 2008) 
			 2009 65,453 69,000 
			 2010 61,985 72,700 
			 2011 58,529 —

Winter Fuel Payments

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  which constituencies are covered by each weather station used to calculate cold weather payments;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) cold weather payments made and  (b) recipients of cold weather payments in each of the last five years, broken down by constituency.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 15 December 2008
	 The information requested is available only at disproportionate cost.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Apprentices

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many apprentices with each sponsoring employer were aged over 25 years  (a) in 2007-08 and  (b) to date in 2008-09.

Si�n Simon: Table 1 shows the total number of apprenticeship starts for those aged 25 or over at the start of their course in the 2007-08 academic year and August-October 2008 (2008-09), the latest period for which published information is available.
	This information was published in a statistical first release on 18 December 2008. Information is not available by individual employer.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of apprenticeship starts for learners aged 25 and over at the start of their course. 
			  Level  2007-08( 1)  2008-09( 2) 
			 Apprenticeship (level 2) 14,600 9,100 
			 Advanced Apprenticeship (level 3) 12,600 7,700 
			 Total 27,200 16,800 
			 (1) Full year (2) August-October 2008  Notes: 1. Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding. 2. Higher Level Apprenticeships are included with Advanced Apprenticeships. 3. Provisional data for 2008-09 are subject to a data lag in the region of +5 per cent.  Source:  WBL Individualised Learner Record

Apprentices

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many of the 35,000 extra apprenticeship places for 2009-10 referred to in the departmental press release of 7 January 2009 are additional to those referred to in the most recent annual grant letter to the Learning and Skills Council of 18 November 2008;
	(2)  how many of the additional apprenticeship places referred to in the departmental press release of 7 January 2009 are expected to be in  (a) the public sector and  (b) the private sector.

Si�n Simon: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a 140 million package to provide an extra 35,000 apprenticeship places over the coming year in both the public and private sectors to help strengthen the country's competitiveness. The 7 January Press release by my Department provided further information about the package.
	All of the extra 35,000 places announced as part of the 140 million package will be available for new places in 2009-10 are additional to those places outlined in the Department's 18 November 2008 Grant Letter to the Learning and Skills Council.
	While we expect the public sector to deliver a significant proportion of the additional opportunities, we have not set a target for the balance between public and private sector which will be determined by employer demand.

Departmental Work Experience

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many internships were  (a) offered by and  (b) taken up within the Department in 2007-08; and how many have been (i) offered and (ii) taken up to date in 2008-09.

Si�n Simon: The Department made a combined bid with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) for 30 interns from the Cabinet Office Summer Development and Placement Programmes. The Department bid for four interns and placed three of them in summer 2008. In addition, the Department placed two students on the Windsor Fellowship in summer 2008 which is a leadership programme offering six week internships to talented undergraduate students from ethnic minorities.
	The Department has made a similar bid with the DCSF for 15 Summer Development Interns and 15 Summer Placement Interns for summer 2009. The number to be offered places in the Department is yet to be confirmed. We expect the process to be completed by Easter with a view to interns taking up posts in July and August 2009.
	The Department has also offered two places to students on the Windsor Fellowship which commences in summer 2009.

Foundation Degrees

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of the Higher Education Funding Council for England's annual budget was spent on the provision of foundation degrees in each year since the introduction of that qualification.

David Lammy: The following table shows the percentage of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)'s annual budget represented by recurrent teaching allocations explicitly associated with foundation degree students since 2001-02 when foundation degrees were formally established. The latest data available are for 2006-07.
	
		
			   Foundation funding as a percentage of total HEFCE budget 
			 2001-02 0.2 
			 2002-03 0.6 
			 2003-04 1.0 
			 2004-05 1.6 
			 2005-06 2.2 
			 2006-07 2.7

Higher Education: Admissions

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people enrolled on a higher national diploma course in each year since 2001; and what the drop-out rate has been in each year since 2001.

David Lammy: Table 1 shows the number of enrolments on higher national diplomas (HND) since 2001/02. 'Foundation Degrees 2008/13' is the latest report from HEFCE, however, this does not contain figures for HND students. Therefore figures for the 2006/07 academic year are the latest available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Home, EU and overseas enrolments on higher national diplomas English higher education institutions and further education colleges, academic years 20001/02 to 2006/07 
			  Academic year  Enrolments 
			 2001/02 63,285 
			 2002/03 57,720 
			 2003/04 49,215 
			 2004/05 39,980 
			 2005/06 34,005 
			 2006/07 25,815 
			  Notes: Number of overseas enrolments for 2005/06 and 2006/07 has been estimated by assuming they represent the same proportion as for the previous years students, that is 4.8 per cent for full-time and 1.7 per cent for part-time.  Source: 'Foundation degrees 2007/03' report published by Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Columns 1 + 2 of HESES and HEIFES (2006/07 values are provisional). 
		
	
	Table 2 shows the latest information on the progression of higher national diploma students. 'Foundation Degrees 2008/13' is the latest report from HEFCE, however, this does not contain figures for HND students. Therefore figures for the 2003/04 year of entry are the latest available.
	
		
			  Table 2: Home higher national diploma students by progression and institution type English higher education institutions and further education colleges year of entry 2003/04 
			  Institution type  Progression  Number  Percentage 
			 FECs All FEC entrants 9,915 100 
			   of which:   
			  Change to FE Level course 410 4 
			  Not studying 3,140 32 
			 
			 HEIs All HEI entrants 12,635 100 
			   of which:   
			  Change to FE Level course 165 1 
			  Not studying 1,915 15 
			  Notes: 1. Institution type refers to the institution the student is registered with. 2. Study in the following year includes students registered for any FE or HE study in HEIs in the UK, and students registered for any HE or FE study in FECs in England. Any study outside this coverage is not included and the students will be categorised as 'not studying'.  Source: 'Foundation degrees 2007/03' report published by Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) 
		
	
	Figures in Table 1 cover Home, EU and Overseas enrolments, whereas figures in Table 2 cover Home entrants only.
	The number of students on foundation degrees programmes now exceeds the number of students studying for HNDs. However, this growth has taken place against a background of declining numbers of students studying towards HNDs and HNCs. This decline predates the introduction of foundation degrees. According to a study by the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA), even when foundation degrees were first introduced, this was not the main reason for institutions discontinuing HND and HNC provision (LSDA 2002). Since then the decline in HND and HNCs has accelerated, at least in part due to the growth in foundation degrees.

Higher Education: Finance

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he plans to send the annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England for 2009-10.

David Lammy: The annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) for 2009-10 was published today 22 January 2009. I have placed a copy in the Library.

Higher Education: Finance

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will list each successful application to the Higher Education Funding Council for England for projects  (a) to be funded,  (b) to be partly-funded and  (c) to be funded by loans via the strategic development fund during (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008; and how much funding was sought in each case.

David Lammy: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has published a list of projects funded by the Strategic Development Fund on its website at:
	http://www.hefce.ac.uk/finance/fundinghe/sdf/

Higher Education: Finance

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what applications to the Higher Education Funding Council for England for projects  (a) to be funded,  (b) to be partly funded and  (c) to be loan funded via the Strategic Development Fund were not accepted during (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008.

David Lammy: This information is not held in the form requested. Proposals to the Strategic Development Fund are developed iteratively between the HEIs and the Council's institutional teams, sometimes over a lengthy period. Projects that then come forward for funding have been thoroughly tested and hence are very rarely rejected. HEFCE's institutional teams have regular informal discussions with HEIs to discuss emerging proposals and many are turned back at that stage, and are not recorded.

Higher Education: Student Numbers

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people normally resident  (a) in Jarrow constituency,  (b) in South Tyneside,  (c) in the north-east and  (d) nationwide have been registered at university in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: The latest available information is given in the table. Comparable figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available on 29 January 2009.
	
		
			  Enrolments( 1)  at UK higher education institutions from Jarrow parliamentary constituency, South Tyneside local authority, North-east government office region( 2)  and England, academic years 1997/98 to 2006/07 
			  Academic year  Jarrow  South Tyneside  North-east  England 
			 1997/98 1,765 3,055 (2)67,795 1,272,780 
			 1998/99 1,805 3,125 (2)70,715 1,308,300 
			 1999/2000 1,790 3,090 60,890 1,309,505 
			 2000/01 1,715 2,930 62,940 1,339,120 
			 2001/02 1,775 3,000 64,705 1,377,475 
			 2002/03 1,875 3,250 68,120 1,435,655 
			 2003/04 1,985 3,420 69,980 1,492,580 
			 2004/05 2,160 3,765 70,590 1,524,120 
			 2005/06 2,095 3,625 71,240 1,533,770 
			 2006/07 2,040 3,595 72,465 1,494,595 
			 (1) Covers all students on any year of a course. Includes students on both full-time or part-time courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level including the Open University. (2) Figures for the 1997/98 and 1998/99 academic years relate to the north of England, rather than the north-east due to a change in the classification of government office regions. Therefore, figures for this region from these two years cannot be directly compared to other years in the time series.  Notes: Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December excluding those writing up, on sabbatical or dormant and are rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). 
		
	
	Overall, for all students from England, the UCAS figures show that, compared to 2007, applicants to full-time undergraduate courses who had been accepted for entry in 2008, rose by 7.4 per cent. to 329,700, the highest ever. This comes on the back of a rise in accepted applicants of 6.1 per cent. between 2006 and 2007.

Intellectual Property

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will reconsider his response to the recommendations contained in the Gowers report on intellectual property.

David Lammy: A functioning intellectual property system is an essential enabler to encourage innovation and economic recovery. The Gowers Review concluded that the intellectual property framework in the UK was broadly right. It did however highlight a number of areas for reform which it set out in a number of specific recommendations. Over half of these recommendations have been implemented. Work is continuing on the remainder. Meanwhile, the Government continue to attach priority to IP issues. The Creative Britain Report recognised the importance of IP, in particular copyright to the creative industries. As part of this report the Government have improved IP crime intelligence gathering and coordination of enforcement agencies. I also recently announced a broad review of the future of copyright to ensure that it continues to support creativity, promote investment and job growth while also inspiring business and consumer confidence.

Outdoor Education

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the merits of fieldwork and out-of-classroom activity in developing practical skills for use  (a) at undergraduate level,  (b) at postgraduate level and  (c) in employment; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department has not made a formal assessment of the benefits of fieldwork and out-of-classroom activity. However, there is a body of research that demonstrates the value of learning outside the classroom to which the Department has contributed; key reports can be found at:
	www.lotc.org.uk/resources/research
	Ofsted's report Learning outside the classroom: how far should you go? was published on 2 October 2008. A key finding is
	When planned and implemented well, learning outside the classroom contributed significantly to raising standards and improving pupils' personal, social and emotional development.
	To support and develop teachers in using fieldwork as high quality learning experiences, a network of science learning centres provides a range of continuing professional development opportunities throughout the year. These cover chemistry, physics and biology and all key stages of the science curriculum.
	Through the Government funded Action Plan for Geography, the Royal Geographical Society and the Geographical Association have developed online resources and guidance. These are available at:
	http://www.geographyteachingtoday.org.uk/
	and include a virtual fieldwork and local learning centre to help teachers make the most of geography in their local areas. The website contains expert advice on embedding fieldwork in the curriculum.
	The Department has made no assessment of whether the encouragement of fieldwork as a teaching method is adequately supported by teacher training courses. However, the current standards for the award of qualified teacher status (QTS) set out what trainee teachers must demonstrate before they can be recommended for the award. QTS Standard Q30 requires that all trainees demonstrate that they can
	establish a purposeful and safe learning environment conducive to learning and identify opportunities for learners to learn in out-of-school contexts.
	Training and Development Agency for Schools guidance to this standard states that
	trainees should be able to identify opportunities for children and young people to learn in the school grounds and in out-of-school contexts such as museums, theatres, field centres and work settings.
	All initial teacher training provision is inspected by Ofsted to ensure that training is designed and delivered to enable every trainee to meet all of the QTS standards, including standard Q30 that relates to learning outside of the classroom.
	Through the manifesto for learning outside the classroom, DCSF is supporting Teaching Outside the Classroom at:
	www.teachingoutsidetheclassroom.com
	which facilitates placements for trainee teachers in settings such as museums, city farms and field study centres.
	The Government have no plans to commission research to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the state of fieldwork in secondary science education for 14 to 19-year-olds.

Students: Loans

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  what his latest estimate is of the amount overpaid in student loan repayments due to late notification of the Student Loans Company by HM Revenue and Customs of the full repayment of a loan in the last 12 month period for which data are available;
	(2)  what his latest estimate is of the average time taken for HM Revenue and Customs to notify the Student Loans Company that a student loan has been repaid in full.

David Lammy: Repayment of student loans depends on the income of the borrower: the repayment rate is 9 per cent. of income over the equivalent of 15,000 per annum which is collected through HM Revenue and Customs alongside income tax and national insurance contributions. The repayment amount therefore varies according to their income.
	The Student Loans Company (SLC) reconciles borrowers' loan accounts at the end of each financial year. There may be overpayments when a borrower comes to the end of repaying their loan, which are refunded with interest, but these are not caused by late notification by HM Revenue and Customs.
	The SLC is putting a number of measures in place to help customers avoid overpayment by giving them the option to make final repayments outside the tax system, via direct debit, to ensure they do not overpay. SLC have also introduced new guidance and tools, including an online calculator, to help customers work out their loan balance, and therefore when they are likely to pay their loan in full.

Work Experience

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of internships offered nationwide in 2007-08.

David Lammy: The value of internships for undergraduates and for graduates is well established. That is why we want to increase internship opportunities for unemployed graduates, as just one part of this Government's overall package to support individuals through the economic downturn. We have not made an estimate of the number of internships offered in 2007-08 but a significant proportion of the larger graduate employers offer such places as part of their recruitment processes. We will build on such existing good practice as we work with relevant stakeholders to develop our proposals.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Academies: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which academies are categorised in the national challenge; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: There are 32 Academies (listed in the following table) where fewer than 30 per cent. of pupils achieved five or more A* - C grades including English and mathematics at GCSE in 2008 and which are categorised in the National Challenge.
	Barnsley Academy
	Bradford Academy
	Business Academy, Bexley
	Capital City Academy
	City Academy, Bristol
	Eastbourne Academy (Darlington)
	Folkestone Academy
	Gateway Academy
	Grace Academy, Solihull
	Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy
	Harefield Academy
	Harris Academy, Peckham
	Havelock Academy
	John Madejski Academy
	Marlowe Academy
	New Line Learning Academy
	North Oxfordshire Academy
	Oasis Academy, Immingham
	Oasis Academy, Winteringham
	Northampton Academy
	Sheffield Park Academy
	Sheffield Springs Academy
	Stockport Academy
	St. Francis of Assisi Academy
	St. Mark's Academy
	St. Matthew Academy
	St. Michael's and All Angels Academy
	Stockley Academy
	Swindon Academy
	Thomas Deacon Academy
	Westminster Academy
	Unity Academy
	Academies are leading the way in reducing low attainment. For the 36 academies with results in both 2007 and 2008 there has been an increase of 4.3 percentage points in the FIVE or more A* to C figure, including English and maths, compared to 2.5 percentage points nationally.

Audit and Risk Assurance Committee

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's Audit and Risk Assurance Committee; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Formal reviews of the effectiveness of the Department's Audit and Risk Assurance Committee have been undertaken periodically at the request of the chair since 2005 in line with H.M. Treasury Guidance within the Audit Committee Handbook. The most recent was delivered in February 2008. Feedback for these reviews is provided by board members, other senior departmental managers, and the independent committee members.

Care Proceedings

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many applications for care proceedings were made by local authorities in November  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008.

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of public law care and supervision applications under section 31 of the Children Act 1989 in November 2007 and November 2008 are given in the following table. Public law cases are those brought by local authorities or an authorised person (currently only the NSPCC). Figures relate to the number of children that are subject to each application and have been rounded to the nearest 10. Please note that 2008 figures are provisional.
	Comparisons between single months should be made with caution as the monthly figures are subject to more volatility than those covering longer time periods.
	
		
			  Number of public law care and supervision applications under section 31 of the Children Act 1989 England and Wales; county courts and family proceedings courts 
			   November 2007  November 2008 
			 Family proceedings courts(1) 920 1,090 
			 County courts(2) 240 160 
			 Total 1,150 1,240 
			 (1) There have been data quality issues with figures for family proceedings courts. A new method of collection was introduced in April 2007 which has improved the coverage and completeness of data. (2) Research undertaken on behalf of Ministry of Justice has identified that some cases that have transferred from the family proceedings court to the county court have been incorrectly recorded as new applications in the county court, thus inflating the reported number of new applications through double counting (see Masson et al 2008).  Source: HMCS FamilyMan and manual returns, as at January 2009

Charities

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families to which  (a) charities and  (b) voluntary organisations his Department has provided funding in the last five years; and how much funding was provided to each.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested can be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Children: Protection

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children on the Child Protection Register were taken into care in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	The number of children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March and who were also looked after on that date is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Children who were the subject of a child protection plan (CPP) who were also looked after on that date( 1) :  Years at 31 March 19 97 to 2008 Coverage: England 
			   Numbers  Percentage of total who were the subject of a plan( 2) 
			 1997 7,900 24 
			 1998 7,800 25 
			 1999 7,900 25 
			 2000 7,100 23 
			 2001 5,400 20 
			 2002 4,600 18 
			 2003 4,200 16 
			 2004 3,400 13 
			 2005 3,000 12 
			 2006 2,600 10 
			 2007 2,400 9 
			 2008 2,200 8 
			 (1)Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. (2)The number of looked after children who were the subject of a CPP at 31 March, expressed as a percentage of all children who were the subject of a CPP at that date. 
		
	
	The latest figures on the numbers and percentage of children subject to child protection plans or placed on the Child Protection Register were published in a Statistical First Release (SFR) 24/2008 'Referrals, Assessments and Children and
	Young People who are the subject of a Child Protection Plan, EnglandYear ending 31 March 2008' on 16 September 2008. A copy of this release is available on my Department's website:
	www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway

Children: Protection

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many children were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2008;
	(2)  what percentage of children referred to children's social care received an initial assessment within seven working days in 2007;
	(3)  what percentage of child protection plans last for two or more years;
	(4)  what percentage of children became the subject of a child protection plan for a second or subsequent time in 2007;
	(5)  what percentage of core assessments for children's social care were carried out within 35 working days of their commencement in the last three years.

Beverley Hughes: 29,200 children were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2008. In the year ending 31 March 2008:
	71 per cent. of children referred to children's social care received an initial assessment within seven working days.
	5 per cent. of children whose child protection plan was discontinued were a subject of a plan for two or more years.
	14 per cent. of children became the subject of a child protection plan for a second or subsequent time.
	80 per cent. of core assessments for children's social care were carried out within 35 working days of initial assessments in the year ending 31 March 2008, 78 per cent. in the year ending 31 March 2007 and 74 per cent. in the year ending 31 March 2006.
	These figures have been taken from the statistical first release Referrals, Assessments and Children and Young People who are the subject of a Child Protection Plan, Englandyear ending 31 March 2008, which can be found at the following link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000811/index.shtml.
	Figures are for England only.

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2008,  Official Report, column 1114W, on children: protection, how many representations concerning child protection his Department has referred to the Commission for Social Care Inspection or Ofsted since its inception.

Beverley Hughes: It is not possible to quantify the number of cases referred to inspectorates by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The Department receives representations across a wide range of issues including on child protection, mostly in the form of correspondence. Some of these are shared with inspectorates for information whilst other matters may be passed to them on a more formal basis where specific action may be appropriate. In addition, local authorities are required in particular circumstances to notify Ofsted of the details of particular events, including those relating to serious incidents involving children or with respect to incidents occurring in settings for which Ofsted has regulatory functions. Other issues raised by correspondents with the Department may be pursued directly with local authorities or other agencies through the Department's regional Government office network.

Children: Protection

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he plans to take to assist social workers in protecting children.

Beverley Hughes: In April 2008, we announced a 73 million package of support for social workers who work with children and families. This package includes the Newly Qualified Social Worker pilot programme which will support social workers in their first year of practice including through improved supervision by their managers. Other pilot projects will seek to address the development needs of those in the second and third years of practice; to recognise and encourage more experienced and skilled social workers to stay in frontline posts; and to develop management and leadership skills. More information on this package of work which is being delivered by the Children's Workforce Development Council can be found here:
	http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/social-work
	In December 2008 we announced a Social Work Taskforce which will consider what makes a difference to outcomes for children in terms of social work practice. The taskforce will make recommendations to Government later this year.

Children: Protection

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what research his Department is funding into effective child protection practice; and which such research it has funded in the last three years.

Beverley Hughes: Under the Safeguarding Children Research Initiative DCSF, in partnership with the Department of Health, have commissioned a suite of studies to support the Government's programme of reform to improve early recognition and cost-effective interventions to protect children. The Safeguarding Children Research Initiative runs until 2010 and includes 11 studies covering three themes: recognition of neglect and emotional abuse; impact of interventions; and inter-agency working. In addition, the Department has commissioned various other projects to inform effective practice in safeguarding children.
	The following table gives a full list of studies.
	
		
			  Table of Studies 
			  Safeguarding Research Initiative 
			  Report title  Contractors 
			  ThemeRecognition of neglect and emotional abuse  
			 1. Neglected adolescents: a review of the literature and the preparation of guides for multi-disciplinary teams and young people M. Stein (University of York) 
			 2. Noticing and helping the neglected child: a review of the literature B. Daniel, J. Taylor, J. Scott and M. Barbour, (University of Dundee) 
			 3. Does training in a systematic approach to emotional abuse improve the quality of children's services? D. Glaser and V. Prior (Institute of Child Health) 
			   
			  ThemeImpact of interventions  
			 4. A systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions in reducing emotional abuse J. Barlow and A. Schrader McMillan (University of Warwick) 
			 5. Case management and outcomes for neglected children: a six year follow-up study of neglected children who have been looked after and reunified E. Farmer and E. Lutman, (University of Bristol 
			 6. Systematic reviews of interventions following physical abuse: helping practitioners and expert witnesses improve the outcomes of child abuse P. Montgomery, P. Ramchandani, F. Gardner and G. Bjomstad, (University of Oxford) 
			 7. Outcomes for looked after children placed for reasons of abuse or neglect: the consequences of staying in care or returning home. J. Wade, N. Biehal and I. Sinclair (University of York) 
			   
			  ThemeInteragency Working  
			 8. The outcomes of interprofessional training to safeguard children J. Carpenter and E. Szilassy (University of Bristol), and S. Hackett (University of Durham) 
			 9. Understanding parents' information needs and experiences when professional concerns of non-accidental injury were not substantiated L. Haines and S. Komulainen (Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health) 
			 10. Inter-agency working Conflicts of interest for GPs in safeguarding children H. Tompsett (Kingston University) 
			 11. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the new Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs), A. France and E. Munro (CRSP, University of Loughborough) 
			   
			  Overview  
			 12. Overview Report of the Safeguarding Research Initiative H. Ward (CCfR, University of Loughborough) 
		
	
	 Quality Matters Research Initiativeselected studies
	Some studies included in the Quality Matters Research Initiative, which ran alongside and informed the Quality Protects programme, continue to inform the Safeguarding of children agenda.
	
		
			  Report title  Contractors 
			 The response of child protection practices and procedures to children exposed to domestic violence or drug or alcohol abuse within their families H. Cleaver et al (University of London) 
			 The reunification of looked after children with their parents: patterns, interventions and outcomes E. Farmer and T. O'Neill (University of Bristol) 
			 Outcomes for children placed with family and friends as a results of care proceedings J. Hunt and S. Waterhouse (University of Oxford) 
		
	
	Other current safeguarding research:
	
		
			  Report title  Contractors 
			 Safeguarding and promoting child welfarehow have public organisations responded to Section 11 of the Children's Act? ('Section 11 Audit') Ipsos MORI 
			 Preventing Childhood Deaths: a Study of 'Early Starter' Child Death Overview Panels in England P. Sidebotham, J. Fox, J. Horwath, C. Powell and S. Perwez (Universities of Warwick, Sheffield and Southampton) 
			 Preventing Future Child DeathsSupplementary Survey 2008 P Sidebotham (University of Warwick) 
			 Analysis of Serious Case Reviews (2005-2007) M. Brandon, (University of East Anglia) 
			 Protecting and Promoting the well-being of very young children: a prospective study of babies in need or at risk of significant harm. H. Ward (CCfR, University of Loughborough) 
			 Costs and Consequences of Child Welfare Interventions (the Cost Calculator) H. Ward (CCfR, University of Loughborough) 
			 Forced Marriage: towards understanding the scale of the problem and the way in which services respond to cases involving children and young people National Centre for Social Research and Dr. Nazia Khanum

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps he has taken in respect of child protection in Birmingham.

Beverley Hughes: In response to Ofsted's judgment of 'inadequate' for 'Staying Safe' in Birmingham city council's 2008 Annual Performance Assessment (APA), officials from DCSF met with the Council on 17 December to identify what action is being taken to tackle the underlying causes of inadequate performance. Ministers will decide shortly the form of any intervention that may be necessary to bring about swiftly the required improvements to the service and improve outcomes for children and young people.

Children: Sport

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made towards meeting the targets to provide every child with the opportunity to participate in five hours of sport every week; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The PE and Sport Strategy for Young People came into operation from September 2008. At its heart is a commitment to provide two hours of high quality PE and Sport each week within the school day, for all five to16-year-olds, and up to a further three hours of sporting opportunities beyond the school day for all five to19-year-olds. We expect to have data for the first year of the new strategy in autumn 2009.

Classroom Assistants

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many teaching assistants became higher level teaching assistants in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants (TAs) and higher level teaching assistants (HLTAs) employed in local authority maintained schools in England, January 1997 to 2008 (from 2005 only for HLTAs).
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent teaching assistants and higher level teaching assistants in local authority maintained schools , y ears: January 1997 to 2008  Coverage: England 
			   Teaching assistants( 1)  of which Higher level teaching assistants 
			 1997 60,580 n/a 
			 1998 65,540 n/a 
			 1999 69,600 n/a 
			 2000 79,020 n/a 
			 2001 94,990 n/a 
			 2002 105,360 n/a 
			 2003 121,190 n/a 
			 2004 132,060 n/a 
			 2005 147,000 1,010 
			 2006 153,100 5,500 
			 2007 162,990 8,990 
			 2008 175,660 11,690 
			 n/a=Not applicable (1.) Includes higher level teaching assistants (2005 onwards), nursery nurses, nursery assistants, literacy and numeracy support staff, special needs support staff, minority ethnic pupil support staff and any other non-teaching staff regularly employed to support teachers in the classroom.  Note:  Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  School Census

Departmental Data Protection

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many members of staff in his Department have been  (a) investigated,  (b) suspended and  (c) dismissed for losing (i) memory sticks, (ii) laptop computers, (iii) desktop computers and (iv) mobile telephones belonging to his Department in each year since its inception.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Since the Department was created in July 2007, there has been one investigation into the temporary loss of a laptop computer. Disciplinary action in relation to this new case has begun, but is not yet completed.
	The Department takes any breach of security very seriously and may take disciplinary action against those who commit such breaches. Policies and guidance on IT security are available to all staff on the departmental intranet. Logging into the Department's IT system requires that staff agree to abide by these policies.

Departmental Equality

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the progress made against his Department's Equality and Diversity Delivery Plan.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department's Diversity Delivery Plan has recently been sent to Cabinet Office for review and therefore it is too early to make any assessment against progress. We will evaluate the plan later in the year and review its impact on a yearly basis.

Departmental Furniture

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent by his Department on furniture made by  (a) British firms,  (b) Remploy and  (c) overseas firms since it was established.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department for Children, Schools and Families was created on 28 June 2007. The total expenditure on office furniture for its headquarter buildings in 2007-08 was 2,323,834. All of the furniture was manufactured by British firms. No furniture was made by Remploy or overseas firms.

Departmental Pensions

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its predecessors spent on pensions for former employees in each of the last 10 years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) is a multi-employer occupational pension scheme for civil servants employed by Government Departments, including the Department for Children, Schools and Families, as well as some other public bodies.
	The payments from the PCSPS are contained in the Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation Resource Accounts, which are laid before Parliament each year. These accounts do not contain breakdowns for individual employers.

Departmental Surveys

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the findings of his Department's staff survey which commenced in April 2008 were.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Cabinet Office publish the results of all Departmental Staff Surveys. The findings from the Department's last staff survey in April 2008 can be found on this site at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/iam/staff_surveys.asp

Education Maintenance Allowance

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many people have received notices of entitlement for the education maintenance allowance but have not enrolled on a course in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many people have yet to receive an education maintenance allowance payment to which they are entitled.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in both Libraries.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people  (a) in Jarrow constituency,  (b) in South Tyneside,  (c) in the North East and  (d) nationwide have received education maintenance allowance in each year since its inception.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in both Libraries.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Kent

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students have  (a) received a notice of entitlement for the education maintenance allowance (EMA),  (b) successfully enrolled on a course of study and  (c) received at least one (EMA) payment in (i) Kent local authority area and (ii) Ashford constituency since the introduction of the allowance.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Mark Haysom the LSC's chief executive, will write to the Member for Ashford (Damian Green) with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in both Libraries.

Expect Respect

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many local education authorities have encouraged schools to use the Expect Respect education toolkit;
	(2)  what guidance his Department has provided to local education authorities on use of the Expect Respect education toolkit.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not collect information on how many local education authorities have encouraged schools to use the Expect Respect education toolkit, nor do we endorse or recommend any particular provider or approach to the use of external education materials. We believe that schools and local authorities are best placed to decide which resources/materials to use and support.

Global Fellowships Programme

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effects of the Global Fellowships programme's initiative to provide young people with work and cultural experiences in  (a) China,  (b) India and  (c) Brazil; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: An interim evaluation of the Prime Minister's Global Fellowship will be published by the Department and the British Council in the spring.

Graduate Leader Fund

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what funding his Department has allocated to the Graduate Leader Fund over the next three years;
	(2)  how much he expects to be available from Graduate Leader Fund in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The Department has allocated 305 million to the Graduate Leader Fund for the three years 2008-2011. This includes 232 million to be allocated via local authorities for early years settings in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sectors to recruit and retain graduate practice leaders and 73 million to enable the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to establish a supply of professionals with Early Years Professional Status.
	Of this funding, the Department has made 99 million available in the next financial year 2009-10. 75 million has been allocated for recruitment and retention of graduate leaders and 24 million to CWDC.

Mathematics

Andrew Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress is being made in the implementation of recommendation 3 of the Williams Review of Mathematics Teaching in Early Years Settings and Primary Schools.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Williams Review recommended that a maths specialist teacher should be available to every primary school by 2019. A small pathfinder project is currently running to test issues relating to the training for maths specialists. This was launched in October 2008 and involves seven LAs with eight schools in each, and a total of 56 trainee teachers. Early evidence shows a positive reaction from the teachers involved and the training improving their confidence, enjoyment and understanding of mathematics.

National Apprenticeship Service

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he expects the National Apprenticeship Service to be established.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: 'World-class Apprenticeships' announced that from April 2009 there would be a separately branded, customer-facing National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) which will have end-to-end responsibility for the apprenticeship programme in England, including ultimate accountability for the national delivery of targets.
	Good progress is being made in setting up the NAS and the chief executive, Simon Waugh, will take up post on 2 February. The NAS is on track to be fully operational from April 2009.
	Excellent progress is also being made on the National Apprenticeship Vacancy Matching Service (NAVMS). The web-based matching service was launched on 12 January and the full service to employers and would-be apprentices will be in place in April 2009.

National Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Centre

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  whether he expects the National Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Centre to open in 2009;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the  (a) capital and  (b) annual running cost of the National Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Centre.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The National Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Resource Centre is grant funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation rather than the Department for Children, Schools and Families. I am unable to confirm when it is due to open and have made no estimate of the capital and running costs involved.

Pupils: Broadband

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent assessment of the level of access to broadband at home is for  (a) all primary school pupils and  (b) primary school pupils from lower income households.

Jim Knight: The most recent research(1) published by the Department found that 90 per cent. of parents of school-aged children in England reported that they had computer and internet access at home. Among parents of primary age children the figure was 89 per cent. for parents of children in Key Stage 1, and 88 per cent. for children in Key Stage 2.
	(1) Peters et al, Parental Involvement in Children's Education, London, DCSF, 2007
	www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-RR034.pdf
	The research showed a variation in connectivity by social class. Among parents in social class E, 69 per cent. had a computer with internet access. The research did not distinguish broadband and dial-up connectivity. However Government statistics(2) show that most UK households with internet connectivity have a broadband connection: 65 percent of households had any Internet access and 56 per cent. had broadband access.
	(2) National Statistics Omnibus Survey 2008
	www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=8

Schools: PFI

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many contracts with private providers under private finance initiative schemes have been signed for school capital projects in each of the last six months.

Jim Knight: The following contracts have been signed which include private finance initiative in each of the last six months:
	IslingtonJuly 2008
	KentOctober 2008

Schools: Pigmeat

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of pork served in schools in  (a) East Devon constituency,  (b) the South West and  (c) England was locally sourced in the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not collect this information. Decisions on food procurement are down to individual schools and local authorities. To assist them in this the School Food Trust has published A fresh look at school food procurement: efficiency and sustainabilityguidance for schools and local authorities on how efficient and sustainable food procurement can be pursued in tandem.
	The guidance actively promotes the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI), which aims to increase tenders from small and local producers and improve their ability to do business. The guide encourages buyers to identify and reduce barriers to small and medium-sized local enterprises (which may prevent them from tendering) and recognises that smaller suppliers can compete with larger businesses. It also recognises that their participation in the public sector supply chain can benefit local and regional economies. The Trust's website also contains a number of case studies where local authorities and schools demonstrate how they have successfully tendered for local produce for their meals' service.

Schools: Racial Discrimination

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families by what means his Department monitors and records the number of racially-triggered events occurring in schools; how many such events there were in maintained schools in Norfolk in the last 12 months; what steps he is taking to reduce the number of such events in the future; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department for Children, Schools and Families issued its 'Recording and reporting racist incidents guidance' in December 2006. It is for individual local authorities to record, monitor and investigate the number of incidents in their schools.
	Between 1 April 2008 and 13 January 2009, Norfolk county council has stated that 283 racist incidents were reported by schools. Between April 2007 and March 2008, 293 incidents were reported.

Schools: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in the National Challenge programme were oversubscribed in September  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Data on schools that are oversubscribed are not collected centrally.

Schools: Vetting

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he expects all Criminal Records Bureau checks on existing  (a) head teachers,  (b) teachers and  (c) non-teaching school staff to have been completed.

Jim Knight: Schools are not required to obtain CRB enhanced disclosures on staff who have been in post since before the CRB was established in 2002, although schools are required to check that such staff are not barred from working with children. When the new Vetting and Barring Scheme is introduced, such staff will be required to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority and to obtain a CRB enhanced disclosure. The new scheme will be phased in over a period of up to five years, but staffincluding school staffwho have never had a CRB disclosure will have high priority in the phasing-in process. Although we cannot say precisely when this will be complete, staff without CRB disclosures will be taken early in the phasing process. The arrangements apply equally to head teachers, teachers and other staff.

Science: GCSE

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils eligible to receive free school meals attained a GCSE in  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry and  (c) biology at grade A* in the latest year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The table shows the number and percentage of pupils achieving grade A* in Physics, Chemistry and Biology by eligibility of free school meals in 2008 as a proportion of pupils at the end of KS4.
	
		
			   Non-FSM  FSM  Total 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Physics 9,727 1.9 173 0.2 9,900 1.7 
			 Chemistry 9,982 1.9 217 0.3 10,199 1.7 
			 Biology 9,174 1.8 173 0.2 9,347 1.6 
		
	
	The number and percentage of pupils achieving grade A* as a proportion of the total number of entries.
	
		
			   Non-FSM  FSM  Total 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Physics 9,727 19.2 173 8.3 9,900 18.8 
			 Chemistry 9,982 19.6 217 10.2 10,199 19.2 
			 Biology 9,174 16.5 173 6.4 9,347 16.0 
			  Note: Data is provisional and subject to change. The data also relates to pupils at the end of KS4 in maintained schools only.  Source: National Pupil Database

Social Services: Children

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his assessment of the availability of emergency accommodation for children or young people who need an immediate place of safety is in each children's services area.

Beverley Hughes: The provision of emergency accommodation for young people who need it is the responsibility of local authorities. Support services for runaways should be determined and run through local children's trusts and other stakeholders, according to local service needs. Local authority children's services are therefore best placed to assess the type and levels of support required, including, where appropriate, accommodation. This could include emergency foster care or short-term placement in a children's home, as well as counselling and mediation services, but the exact mix will vary according to locally determined need.
	The National Indicator NI71: Children missing from home or care, becomes effective from 1 April 2009. Local authorities will be asked to self assess the services, information and processes that they have in place to respond to the needs of young runaways using a self assessment tool developed for this purpose.
	In order to support local authority children's services in their provision of emergency accommodation my Department is funding research that will identify successful and cost effective commissioning models using services provided by the voluntary sector, and by helping commissioners at every level understand more about young people's perceptions of different models of emergency accommodation.

Social Services: Doncaster

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what reports have been produced by Paul Gray on the state of children's services in Doncaster; and if he will make them public.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 19 January 2009
	The Department does not hold this information since Dr. Paul Gray, interim Director of Children's Services for Doncaster Metropolitan borough council, does not report directly to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. Assessment of the performance of children's services in Doncaster is carried out by means of OfSTED inspections, the most recent of which was the 2008 Annual Performance Assessment (APA). Doncaster's APA letter was published on 17 December 2008. It can be found at:
	http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxcare_providers/la_download/(id)/4722/(as)/APA/apa_2008371.pdf

Sure Start Programme

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many Sure Start centres were built in each of the last 12 months.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 19 January 2009
	The figures in the following table show the number of new Sure Start Children's Centres designated each month throughout 2008. These figures include centres where some activities take place in pre-existing, refurbished buildings, for example, at a school site.
	
		
			  Sure Start Centres designated 
			   Number 
			 January 230 
			 February 346 
			 March 441 
			 April 1 
			 May 0 
			 June 1 
			 July 1 
			 August 1 
			 September 4 
			 October 0 
			 November 2 
			 December 2

Teachers: Offenders

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many teachers in the maintained sector have received an  (a) conviction and  (b) police caution.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not held centrally.

Teachers: Pay

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effect on teachers of the end of management allowance safeguarding on 31 December 2008 and the introduction of teaching and learning responsibility payments; and how many teachers are affected by  (a) that change and  (b) the change in the amount of pay received by teachers as a result of the new time limit on safeguarding.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not available centrally, however based on a sample of local authorities we estimate that between 2 and 4 per cent. of teachers may be affected. Management allowances (MA) ceased to exist on 31 December 2005. Under the terms of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) a teacher who was in receipt of a MA on 31 December 2005 was entitled to salary safeguarding for a maximum of three years until 31 December 2008, in which to adjust to the reduction in their income.
	Teaching and Learning Responsibility payments (TLR) were introduced from 1 January 2006 and are now well embedded in the system and are being used to properly reward those who are undertaking a significant responsibility beyond those required of all classroom teachers.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what reservations his Department is seeking to enter in relation to the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mrs. McGuire) on 6 May 2008,  Official Report, column 30WS. We are considering the precise wording of any reservation.

Young People: Unemployment

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of 16 to 18 year-olds were not in education, employment and training in each year since April 2001.

Beverley Hughes: Estimates of participation in education for those of academic age 16-18, including the number and proportion estimated to be Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), are published annually by the Department in a Statistical First Release (SFR) each June on the Department's website
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000792/index.shtml.
	The historical information sought on the numbers and percentages of young people NEET can be found in the following two excel files downloadable at the link above:
	More detailed participation rates, including tables back to 1985
	and
	More detailed participation numbers, including tables back to 1985
	These provide the following estimates of 16-18 NEET, based on academic age, and relating to a snapshot at the end of each calendar year:
	
		
			  End  Number of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET  Percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET 
			 2001 182,400 9.9 
			 2002 188,400 10.0 
			 2003 183,500 9.5 
			 2004 189,800 9.6 
			 2005 213,700 10.7 
			 2006 209,700 10.4 
			 2007 189,500 9.4

Young People: Voluntary Organisations

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in what ways his Department is working with national third sector youth organisations to support the training needs of those working in the third sector to achieve the ambitions set out in Aiming High and the Children's Plan.

Beverley Hughes: Through the current youth workforce reform programme, specific work is underway to identify and meet the training priorities for the third sector so that it can play a full role in the delivery of integrated services for young people. This work is currently examining how these priorities could be met locally by new or existing training and development routes and with new Government investment. Feasibility studies on an accreditation system to accredit existing and prior experience, and the delivery of training resources to support managers in identifying workforce needs for the third sector are also being undertaken. Leaders and managers in the third sector will also have access to a leadership and management programme designed to train up to 5,000 strategic leaders and managers from across young people's services over the next three years, starting this year. In addition the DCSF has recently created the Youth Sector Development Fund, which is designed to promote and support growth and build capacity within third sector organisations, particularly those working with the most vulnerable young people, including supporting the development needs of staff.

Outdoor Education

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the extent to which teacher training courses facilitates the use of fieldwork as a teaching method in schools;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to improve the confidence of  (a) science teachers and  (b) geography teachers in using fieldwork;
	(3)  if his Department will commission research to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the state of fieldwork in secondary science education for 14 to 19-year-olds.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department has not made a formal assessment of the benefits of fieldwork and out-of-classroom activity. However, there is a body of research that demonstrates the value of learning outside the classroom to which the Department has contributed; key reports can be found at:
	www.lotc.org.uk/resources/research
	Ofsted's report Learning outside the classroom: how far should you go? was published on 2 October 2008. A key finding is
	When planned and implemented well, learning outside the classroom contributed significantly to raising standards and improving pupils' personal, social and emotional development.
	To support and develop teachers in using fieldwork as high quality learning experiences, a network of science learning centres provides a range of continuing professional development opportunities throughout the year. These cover chemistry, physics and biology and all key stages of the science curriculum.
	Through the Government funded Action Plan for Geography, the Royal Geographical Society and the Geographical Association have developed online resources and guidance. These are available at:
	http://www.geographyteachingtoday.org.uk/
	and include a virtual fieldwork and local learning centre to help teachers make the most of geography in their local areas. The website contains expert advice on embedding fieldwork in the curriculum.
	The Department has made no assessment of whether the encouragement of fieldwork as a teaching method is adequately supported by teacher training courses. However, the current standards for the award of qualified teacher status (QTS) set out what trainee teachers must demonstrate before they can be recommended for the award. QTS Standard Q30 requires that all trainees demonstrate that they can
	establish a purposeful and safe learning environment conducive to learning and identify opportunities for learners to learn in out-of-school contexts.
	Training and Development Agency for Schools guidance to this standard states that
	trainees should be able to identify opportunities for children and young people to learn in the school grounds and in out-of-school contexts such as museums, theatres, field centres and work settings.
	All initial teacher training provision is inspected by Ofsted to ensure that training is designed and delivered to enable every trainee to meet all of the QTS standards, including standard Q30 that relates to learning outside of the classroom.
	Through the manifesto for learning outside the classroom, DCSF is supporting Teaching Outside the Classroom at:
	www.teachingoutsidetheclassroom.com
	which facilitates placements for trainee teachers in settings such as museums, city farms and field study centres.
	The Government have no plans to commission research to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the state of fieldwork in secondary science education for 14 to 19-year-olds.